Republic claimed a share of the Central Ozark Conference championship with a 63-47 win on the road at Branson Friday night. The Tigers got 19 points from Canyon Smith in beating the Pirates to wrap up the regular season.
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It wasn’t easy for Republic, even though Branson came into the game with a 10-15 record. The Pirates led 17-11 after one quarter and 30-22 at halftime, behind 12 1st-half points from Da’Quan Ervin. Republic’s inside game was nearly non-existent in the 1st half, with Dillen Ramsey and Chase Hoffmann combining for two points.
Coach Trevyor Fisher says his halftime speech was pretty simple.
“All I told them was ‘You’re going to wake up in the morning and realize what an opportunity you wasted, if you don’t pick up your energy level and effort,'” he says. “I let them handle the rest of it.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of game planning and Xs and Os. It was just a matter of going out there and being the tougher team and winning the game.”
Republic responded with a big 3rd quarter, outscoring Branson 25-11. They key was the turnaround of Ramsey and Hoffmann inside. They combined for 16 points in the quarter, giving the Tigers the inside presence they had lacked in the first half.
Republic took its first lead since the opening moments when Smith was fouled while shooting a three-pointer. He made all three free throws to put Republic on top 37-35, and the Tigers never trailed again.
Branson’s Ervin also picked up his fourth foul early in the 3rd quarter, forcing him to the bench and leaving less experienced guards to handle the Tigers’ pressure.
“We turned them over on our full-court pressure, got some easy looks, and got them sped up a little bit,” says Fisher.
The victory pushed Republic into a three-way tie for the COC championship with Nixa and Willard. Nixa beat Republic, Republic beat Willard, and Willard beat Nixa.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” says Fisher. “Anytime you can go through that gauntlet of Nixa, Willard, Ozark, Branson — not to take anything away from those other guys — it’s one of the toughest leagues, if not the toughest, in the state of Missouri, and to be able to call yourselves conference champs is a nice accomplishment.”
In addition to Smith’s 19, the Tigers got 13 from Dylan Bekemeier, 12 each from Hoffmann and Ramsey, and seven from Brock Yocum.
Republic ends its regular season with a 21-4 record. They have nearly a week before they play in the district semifinals on their home floor next Thursday. They’ll meet either Cassville or Aurora.