In a battle between evenly matched teams, the victory usually goes to the team that gets a couple of breaks and makes a couple of plays. Friday night, Nixa got the breaks and made the plays for a 52-48 win over Republic in the Class 5 District 12 championship game. The Eagles overcame a six-point deficit to edge the Tigers and avenge a regular-season loss.
Nixa’s Christian Bundy finished with 20 points and was a dominating presence inside, assisted by early foul trouble on Republic’s primary interior defender, Cameron Doke. But the star of the game for Nixa may have been junior Nathan Elmer, who hit back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game after Republic had built a six-point lead in the second half.
Elmer’s consecutive threes helped the Eagles seize back momentum at the very moment that Republic went cold on the offensive end. The Eagles stretched the lead to nine points before the Tigers turned it around, but Republic would never get closer than four points the rest of the way.
“You’ve got to give them all the credit,” coach Trevyor Fisher says of Nixa. “They made some huge shots — that little spurt there at the end of the third quarter, then Elmer got loose on a couple threes … which gave them a lot of momentum and confidence.”
Republic had jumped to a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led 26-25 at halftime. At the end of the third quarter, Nixa took a 37-35 lead on two free throws by Elmer, after an official called a foul against Republic on a three-point shot.
Nixa missed several free throws in the fourth quarter to help Republic get back into the game, but the Tigers couldn’t hit enough shots to climb all the way back. Despite the loss, though, liked what he saw from his team.
“I still couldn’t be more proud of our group. I thought we battled as best we could. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game. We just didn’t come out on top,” he says.
The Tigers end their season at 22-6. It’s the fourth time in five years Republic has won 20 games under Fisher, and the second year in a row.
“This group will always have a special place in my heart for what they accomplished, because in junior high freshman ball, these guys weren’t the team to beat in the area and they kept battling. What they were able to accomplish, especially these last two years, says a lot about them,” Fisher says. “They didn’t back down from anybody, whether it was the Tournament of Champions, the Nixas, the Kickapoos—anyone in this area, they believed that they could win. I think they hung their hat on the defensive end and they battled all the way to the last buzzer.”
The game was the last in a Republic uniform for the Tigers’ six seniors: Treydon Rackley, Mitch Coiner, Ty Stevens, Devon Ward, Cameron Doke, and Caleb Singley. They combined to win 43 games in their junior and senior seasons.
Find out how you can get $25 worth of free photos as a subscriber to Republic Tiger Sports magazine. Sign up now, before this offer runs out!
Crackerjack Shack Player of the Game
Treydon Rackley was the star of Republic’s earlier win over Nixa, and he did his best to turn in a repeat performance. Rackley scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 19 for the game, helping the Tigers stay in the game to the final seconds. For his effort, in his last game as a Tiger, he’s our Crackerjack Shack Player of the Game.
Our Tiger Player of the Game Honor is sponsored by the Crackerjack Shack. When it comes to Screen Printing, Embroidery, and Promotional Products, they’ve got your back! Check out their website for sales and design ideas.
