Nixa out-shot, out-worked, and out-played Republic in a 59-39 win Friday night. The Eagles, forced to play a bigger lineup because of injuries, smothered Cody Geiger inside and harassed Republic’s outside shooters all night.
“Those guys can move. They’re not your typical big, lumbering big guys,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “They did a good job of making it hard for us to get the ball reversed. They made it hard on our ball handlers to get into the paint, and they made it hard for Cody, when he caught it inside, there was always someone else down there ready to help.”
The Tigers scored only four points in the 1st quarter, two by Geiger and two by Brock Yocum. They trailed 18-4 at the end of one, and 32-20 at halftime.
“We missed a couple ones we normally make early. Then we put our heads down and kind of lost our aggressiveness. We let our offense carry over to our defense and never could recover,” says Fisher.
Nixa was led by Jacob Ruder with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Bryce Dulin added 13, and Wes Middleton had 10.
For Republic, Geiger was the only player in double figures, with 10 points. Yocum and Canyon Smith had eight, Dylan Bekemeier had seven, Dillen Ramsey scored four, and Josh Vaughn had two.
Fisher says the Eagles found Republic’s weaknesses and exploited them, and it will happen again if the Tigers don’t make improvements.
“We had talked about it in previous games, that eventually, if you keep making the same mistakes, it’s going to be magnified when you play a good team,” Fisher says. “Obviously, we were exposed tonight, and they dominated the game in every single facet. Give them all the credit, because they just took it right at us.”
The Tigers fall to 18-3 overall, and 3-1 in the COC. Nixa improves to 17-4 and 4-0.
Republic tries to get back on the winning track next Tuesday at home against Willard.
