With the clock ticking down, Caleb Singley found himself alone under the bucket, jumped up, and tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to give Republic an improbable 58-57 win in double overtime at Nixa Tuesday night.
Republic didn’t hold the lead for a single second in regulation, and they went nearly 8 minutes without scoring for a stretch during the second and third quarters. But after struggling offensively for most of the night, they came alive in the fourth quarter and overcame an 11-point deficit to force overtime. They fell behind in both overtime periods, as well, but fought their way back each time.
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The game-winning play developed at the end of the second overtime period, after Nixa had taken a 57-56 lead on a layup by Braeden Combs. After the ball went out of bounds with 2.7 seconds left, coach Trevyor Fisher called time out and set up a play designed to get the ball to Treydon Rackley. Rackley took a pass from Ty Stevens in the middle of the lane, went to the hoop, but missed the shot. It rolled off the side of the rim, where Caleb Singley was waiting to tip it back in, giving Republic the come-from-behind victory.
Singley says instinct took over when he saw Rackley’s shot come off the rim.
“It’s just my nature as a post player. My dad pretty much forced me to do this. Every time a shot goes up, you go to the boards hard. I didn’t have enough time to grab it and shoot it,” Singley says. “I jumped up and all the Nixa players were just kind of watching it, so I just got up higher than everybody else and tipped it.”
Fisher given his players two options in the huddle before the final play.
“We didn’t know if they were going to be in zone or man, so we got two plays called,” Fisher says. “We got the perfect look that we wanted, but it just didn’t go in. Thank goodness … Caleb came in — just a great tip.”
The Tigers had come alive from long range to shoot their way back into a game that seemed over after three quarters. Nixa led 18-17 after one period and 25-20 at halftime. It was 32-25 after three, and the lead was as big as 11 points before Republic fought back. The Tigers made eight three-pointers in the final 16 minutes, starting with the fourth quarter and continuing into overtime. Four of them were by Treydon Rackley, who finished the game with 21 points to lead all scorers.
Singley and sophomore Broc Smith also came up big down the stretch. Singley scored seven of his 10 points in the fourth quarter or the overtimes. Smith had eight of his 10 points during the same period, including two treys.
Fisher credits his team’s maturity for its ability to come from behind in such a difficult atmosphere.
“It’s always a huge help to have six seniors. We could have lost that thing about five different times. To start the game, we got down big. Then we couldn’t score in the third quarter. Even in overtime, we could have lost it. So great resiliency by our kids to keep battling and not panicking and making plays when we had to,” Fisher says. “It was probably one of those games that neither team deserved to lose, and just a great high school atmosphere.”
The varsity win wrapped up an extraordinary night of basketball between the Tigers and Eagles. The freshman game had gone into overtime, with Republic winning 59-53. The JV game had gone into double overtime, with Republic winning 52-49.
The victory also capped a two-night sweep by the Tigers and Lady Tigers at Nixa. Republic won all three girls games on Monday night, as well.
Republic improves to 18-5 overall. They’re 5-0 in the conference, and they host Willard for a COC game Friday night.
Scoring
Treydon Rackley 21, Caleb Singley 10, Broc Smith 10, Ty Stevens 7, Mitch Coiner 6, Devon Ward 4
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Crackerjack Shack Player of the Game
Treydon Rackley had four points at the end of the 3rd quarter. He ended the game with 21. Rackley’s late-game heroics, including four three-pointers in the 4th quarter and overtime combined, helped Republic come from behind and earned him the title of Crackerjack Shack Player of the Game.
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