For a team that pre-season experts pegged for middle-of-the-pack status, the Republic Tigers sure have a lot of wins. They rode the hot shooting of Mitch Coiner and Ty Stevens to a big early lead and held on for a 72-61 victory Monday, picking up their 20th win of the season against only five losses.
Republic made six three-pointers in the first half –– three from Coiner, two from Stevens, and one from Tristan Ollar. They led 25-10 at the end of the first quarter and 35-22 at halfime.
In the second half, Treydon Rackley scored 14 of his team-high 19 points to help Republic hang on. Ollar finished with 17. Coiner had 16, including five threes. Stevens finished with nine. Cameron Doke scored six. Devon Ward scored three, and Tyler Phillips added two.
The Tigers have one final regular-season game left. It’s the conference finale Tuesday night at Branson. Both teams have one conference loss. They’re tied for first place, and the winner will capture the outright COC championship.
Republic Tiger Sports will broadcast Tuesday’s game live at around 7:45.