For the second night in a row, Republic overcame a halftime deficit to win. But this time, it was for a tournament title. The Tigers used stingy defense to shut down host Rogersville 51-42, winning the Rogersville Tournament championship. It’s the second tournament win of the season for the Tigers, who also captured the Blue and Gold Tournament earlier this season.
Republic scored just 7 points in the first quarter and 17 in the first half, but trailed only by two at halftime. Both teams opened the game with cold shooting. The Tigers failed to hit a 3-pointer in the entire first half, and Rogersville missed several easy buckets inside.
At halftime, coach Gary Stanfield says his biggest adjustment was reminding his players of things they already knew. “It’s thing that we’ve worked on, and you’re going to be frustrated if you don’t do those things,” he says. “It’s all about spacing and decision-making. We’ve struggled a little bit with that, but hopefully we’ve turned the corner.”
The action picked up in the 3rd quarter, at least for the Tigers, who outscored the Wildcats 12-7 in the period. Republic’s outside game finally got going, as Nick Yocum and Canyon Smith hit 3-pointers. Going into the final quarter, Republic led 29-26.
Down the stretch, it was Republic free throw shooting that made the difference. The Tigers finished the game 19 of 22 from the free throw line.
Republic improves to 16-4 this season. Perhaps more importantly, they are 6-0 against their three top district rivals, Marshfield, Rogersville and Hillcrest.
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