The Republic Tigers hit from inside, hit from outside, and hit Willard with stingy defense from start to finish in a 66-41 conference victory in front of a raucous home crowd Tuesday night. Republic rebounded in a big way from its 3rd loss of the year, last Friday to Nixa.
Canyon Smith led the way with 25 points, including seven three-pointers. Cody Geiger added 21 points — 17 of them in the 1st half against an overmatched Willard frontcourt. Brock Yocum had 13 points, including two threes.
Dylan Bekemeier’s play at point guard against full-court Willard pressure was also a key, as he found the openings in Willard’s defense, both inside and out.
“We talked about attacking under control, and I thought he did that,” coach Trevyor Fisher said of Bekemeier’s work at the point. “That’s tough playing against that pressure, especially for 32 minutes without coming out of the game. You’re going to have your turnovers, but I thought he did a good job of being poised and getting us in the right spots.”
Republic jumped ahead 19-11 after one quarter, and led 36-19 at halftime. They outscored Willard 22-12 in the 3rd quarter to blow the game open.
On the other end of the court, Republic shut down Willard. Star Chris Kendrix scored 23 points, but the rest of the team managed only 19.
“I thought defensively we were in tune, more so mentally,” Fisher says. “Obviously you have to have the physical part there, but mentally we were into it. We did what we were supposed to on assignments. Give our guys credit for holding a good team to 41 points.”
The win improves Republic’s record to 19-3 overall and 4-1 in the Central Ozark Conference. Willard falls to 17-6 and 4-1 in the COC.