Cody Geiger quietly put together one of his best games of the year, scoring 24 points to help Republic to a blowout road win at Marshfield, 70-44. The Tigers used a 13-2 run to start the 2nd quarter to build an initial cushion, then closed the deal by outscoring Marshfield 21-10 in the 3rd.
Geiger had only four points in the 1st quarter, but the Tigers got three three-pointers early — two from Canyon Smith and one from Dylan Bekemeier. Marshfield shot well and trailed by only two at the end of the 1st, 15-13.
In the second quarter, the Tigers pounded it inside, getting six points each from Geiger and Hoffmann. And the Republic defense pressured Marshfield from end-to-end, forcing turnovers and leading to easy buckets. The Tigers led 33-22 at the half.
“Give (Marshfield) credit,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “I thought they played really well in the first half, getting it inside and knocking down some outside shots. Second quarter, I thought we picked up our pressure, especially in the full court. We turned them over a little bit, got easy baskets ourselves.”
In the 3rd quarter, Republic pulled away. Geiger had ten points and Dakota Fortner had five to help the Tigers stretch the lead to 54-32. Geiger’s game-high 24 points weren’t flashy, but got the job done for Republic.
“You can’t take him for granted, because he’s that good,” Fisher says of Geiger. “But you kind of get lulled to sleep sometimes because it’s almost automatic when he catches it inside. He’s obviously a great player and we rely heavily on him.”
The Tigers also got 12 points from Smith, on four three-pointers. Hoffman had seven; Bekemeier, Yocum, and Dillen Ramsey had six apiece. Dakota Fortner added five points, and Josh Vaughn and Cory Lafferty each scored two.
Lucas Clift scored 13 points to lead Marshfield.
The Tigers improve to 12-1. They play again Monday at home against Carl Junction.
