Republic fought its way all the way back from an 11-point first-half deficit, but ran out of gas down the stretch in a 52-43 loss at Branson to close out the regular season Tuesday. Branson’s victory gave the Pirates the Central Ozark Conference championship, as they finished 6-1.
Branson seized control of the game early, taking an 11-9 lead after one quarter, then going on a a 14-5 run to stretch the lead to 25-14. But Republic, led by Tristan Ollar’s 13 first-half points, closed the half on a 10-3 run of its own to close the gap to 28-24 at halftime.
“They got up 11 in the first half. We could have folded and gave in to it, but we were able to claw ourselves back into it,” says coach Trevyor Fisher.
Branson extended the lead back to six points at the end of the third quarter, 37-31, but Republic made one more frantic run. The Tigers reeled off seven straight points to start the fourth quarter, nabbing their first lead since the opening minutes. But that was the last time they’d have the lead. The Pirates outscored Republic 11-3 in the final minutes to clinch the league title.
“We just weren’t able to get enough stops down the stretch,” says Fisher. “Our man defense has really let us down here the last couple weeks. Our zone has been better than our man, and that kind of got us back in the game. You’ve got to give Branson credit. They made the plays down the stretch in order to win the game.”
After a win over Waynesville last night, at this point in the season, Fisher says the Tigers may be showing some fatigue.
“Our starters are playing lots of minutes. Some of those shots that were going in yesterday just didn’t fall tonight,” he says. “We were a little tentative offensively in the first half… Guys not looking to be as aggressive as probably they needed to be. But you’ve got to give our guys credit for sticking in there and fighting to the end.”
Tristan Ollar had 17 points to lead Republic. Mitch Coiner had 12. Treydon Rackley scored 11. Ty Stevens had two and Cameron Doke scored one.
Republic wraps up the regular season with a 20-6 record. They finished in second place in the COC with a conference mark of 5-2. They have a week off before opening district play at Joplin next week against Joplin or Neosho.
