The Tigers missed five of their first six shots from the field, but they didn’t let it put a damper on their evening. Brock Yocum scored Republic’s first ten points of the night and helped propel the Tigers to a 53-39 win over Neosho at home.
It was the third win in a row for Republic, and the fourth in five games. It was also one of the most complete games of the year for the Tigers, who came out strong defensively from the start.
“We didn’t start out real good the first couple minutes, but our pressure really forced them to speed up and take quick shots, and we got them to turn it over a little bit,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “Any time you can get quick, easy, non-stressful baskets like we did in the first quarter, that always helps loosen you up. That carried over to our offense the rest of the game.”
The Tigers compounded their strong defensive effort with a big night on the boards at both ends of the court.
“If we speed them up and they take quick shots, it doesn’t do any good if you don’t box out and rebound. I thought we did a good job with that. We were able to get some baskets in transition off it.
“From an offensive standpoint, we got our fair share of offensive rebounds. We didn’t convert a whole lot of them, but at least we’re there in the right spots, and that’s a positive,” Fisher says.
Yocum led the Tigers with 18 points. Brady McGill added 14. Blake Fanning scored nine. Tim Brazeal had six. Tristan Ollar had four, and Ty Stevens scored two.
The win improves Republic’s record to 11-10. They’re 3-0 in the Central Ozark Conference heading into a showdown at Nixa. First place in the conference will be on the line Friday when the Tigers meet the Eagles.
