Just when it looked like the Republic Tigers were about to let a 12-point first-half lead slip away, junior Cody Geiger took over. Geiger scored 11 points in the 4th quarter, including nine in a row, to help Republic blow past St. Francis Borgia and into the state semifinals, 46-33.
Geiger’s offensive explosion was the capper on a great shooting day for the Tigers, who hit 69-percent of their shots from the floor. Geiger scored 17 overall, on 8-of-10 shooting. The Tigers only took four three-point attempts, but hit three of those as well.
“You have a tendency when you play against a zone to just settle for three-point shots, but we did a good job of throwing it to the post, getting it to Cody at the high post, and driving it to the basket,” says coach Trevyor Fisher.
After one quarter, Republic led 13-7. In the 2nd, the Tigers threatened to turn the game into a blowout. Threes by Canyon Smith and Jake Fletcher highlighted a Tiger run, as they extended the lead to 12 at 23-11 with 3:20 left in the half. The Knights clawed back to within striking distance before halftime, though, taking a little momentum into the locker room, even though they trailed 25-18.
The Knights capitalized on their momentum coming out of the break. Borgia scored five straight points to cut the lead to 25-23, before Republic found its footing and extended the lead back to six with four consecutive points of its own. But Borgia scored five more in a row, and the Republic lead was just 29-28 heading into the 4th quarter.
“We just went brain dead there for five or six minutes and had too many turnovers and let them get some easy baskets,” says Fisher. “But the last four or five minutes, we really took care of the ball and were able to hit enough free throws down the stretch.”
In the 4th, dribble penetration by guards on two straight possessions — once by Ty Abney and once by Dylan Bekemeier — served as a turning point. Geiger found the newly opened space in Borgia’s zone defense and went to work.
“They kept leaving me open in transition and the guards kept feeding me, and I just kept scoring,” says Geiger.
In a stretch of about three minutes, Geiger and the Tigers built a 12-point lead and clinched their second trip to the Final Four in four years.
Republic held Borgia to 32.6% shooting from the floor. The Knights attempted 16 three-pointers, but made only three.
Republic improves to 26-4. Borgia ends its season at 20-8.
The Tigers advance to the state semifinals in Columbia next Thursday at 5:10 p.m. against Liberty North (21-5). The Eagles advanced to the semifinals by beating Grandview 69-57.
