Republic led Rogers (Ark.) Heritage at the end of the first quarter, at the end of the second quarter, and at the end of the third quarter. But Heritage made plays down the stretch to steal a game on the road in the second round of the Republic Invitational, beating the Tigers 61-57.
Coach Trevyor Fisher says despite the loss, he was happier with the effort the Tigers put forward Friday, compared to a Tuesday-night loss to Siloam Springs. Republic penetrated the Heritage defense and played more aggressively on defense than they did in their opener.
“We put ourselves in position to win the game,” says Trevyor Fisher. “We just had critical mistakes at both ends of the floor when it counted the most–miscommunication on defense and silly turnovers on offense–and that was the difference in the game.”
Republic led 12-8 at the end of one quarter and 28-25 at halftime. Their lead at the midway point was courtesy of a 70-foot shot by Treydon Rackley that went in as time expired in the second quarter. (See video)
Heritage outscored Republic 15-14 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 42-40, then outscored Republic 21-15 in the final period.
The Tigers led 51-49 with 3:00 remaining before a Heritage three-pointer gave them the lead. Two more buckets stretched the lead to 56-51 before Tristan Ollar completed a three-point play to make it 56-54. A free throw by Heritage gave them a three-point lead again, and the Tigers missed two opportunities to tie the game in the final 30 seconds.
Ollar and Cameron Dome led the Tigers with 11 points apiece. Mitch Coiner and Ty Stevens each had seven. Devon Ward and Caleb Singley had six each. Treydon Rackley scored five and Tyler Phillips added four.
The Tigers play Rogersville in the final game of their tournament Saturday at 11 a.m.