The Republic defense held Hillcrest under ten points in three of the four quarters of their consolation bracket game at the Blue & Gold Tournament Tuesday, setting the pace in a 61-37 win.
Republic rebounded from a loss to Fair Grove in Monday’s quarterfinals with a strong effort on both ends of the floor. Mitch Coiner sparked the offense in the early going with three three-pointers in the first half.
“Everyone feels the tension when shots aren’t going in, so when the ball goes through the net, it loosens everybody up,” says Fisher. “But we still have to hang our hat on the defensive end. When those shots aren’t going in, we’ve still got to get defensive stops.”
The Tigers led 16-7 after the first period and 34-15 at halftime. Hillcrest outscored Republic 13-12 in the 3rd quarter before Republic put the game away with a 15-9 performance in the final period.
Fisher says he’s happy with the way his team bounced back after a rough second half against Fair Grove Monday.
“You always worry about after a tough loss, coming back (and) playing early the next day,” Fisher says. “We’ve had to do that twice now, and we’ve responded well both times.
“Even though their record’s not great, they’ve been starting to play a lot better,” Fisher says of Hillcrest. “They played Kickapoo tough for a half. We knew they’d be a tough matchup, but we did a good job of keeping them out of the paint. That was our goal–to make them beat us with perimeter jump shots.”
Republic had four players in double figures in scoring. Tristan Ollar led the Tigers with 18 points. Coiner had 14. Cameron Doke scored 11. Treydon Rackley added ten. Broc Smith scored four, and Devon Ward and Tyler Phillips scored two apiece.
Republic improves to 6-3 overall. They play Hartville at 7 pm Wednesday at Hammons Student Center.