It took a while for Canyon Smith to get rolling, but when he did, he was deadly. Smith recovered from a scoreless first quarter to hit six three-pointers and score 22 points, leading Republic to a 66-34 win over Aurora in the district semifinals.
In the opening quarter, Republic’s offense struggled to get into a rhythm against underdog Aurora. Brock Yocum hit two three-pointers, but the Tigers managed only 13 points. The Tiger defense picked up the slack, allowing just two points to the Houn’ Dawgs in the first eight minutes.
Thanks to Mid-Missouri Bank for supporting our football coverage! Check out their no-wait debit card: walk in, open a checking account, and walk out with your new card!
“We missed some shots we normally make. It took us a while to find the soft spots” in the Aurora defense, says coach Trevyor Fisher. “Defensively, that kind of kept us together, then we got it going offensively later on.”
Smith came out firing in the 2nd quarter, hitting three treys as the Tigers outscored Aurora 19-11 to nab a 32-13 lead at halftime. Jordan Kerr also had a three-pointer, giving the Tigers seven bombs in the 1st half.
Fisher says seeing Smith unleash his scoring blitz helped the rest of the offense, too.
“I think it kind of loosens the load off everyone’s back, and now they can just relax and play,” Fisher says. “When you miss shots early, everyone gets a little tighter. When a couple of them go in, it loosens everyone up and allows them to be confident.”
The Tigers extended the lead to 53-31 by the end of the 3rd quarter, and played much of the 4th quarter with their reserves on the floor.
Yocum and Chase Hoffmann ended the game with nine points. Dillen Ramsey scored eight. Dylan Bekemeier scored seven. Jordan Kerr had five, Cory Lafferty had four, and Tim Brazeal scored two for the Tigers.
Republic improves to 22-4. Aurora ends its season at 16-11.
The Tigers move into the district championship game against Rogersville. The Wildcats just edged West Plains, 57-55, in the other semifinal.
The championship game will be broadcast live on Republic Tiger Sports at 7 p.m Saturday.
