Bolivar and Republic combined for 19 three-pointers Tuesday night, and Bolivar made ten of them — but that didn’t matter much on the scoreboard, as Republic ran away from the Liberators in a 64-47 victory. Broc Smith scored 30 points and Trent Rackley added 18 to power the Tigers, playing in their final game before the Blue and Gold Tournament begins after Christmas.
Coach Trevyor Fisher says his team came out far more prepared Tuesday than it had in a sluggish performance against Springfield Central last Friday.
“Our attention to detail, our focus level, our intensity level was a lot better, and therefore you don’t have turnovers, you don’t screw up defensive assignments, and … that stuff leads to making shots. Everything looks better when you when you make shots, but I really feel like the way you prepare yourself mentally going into a game has a factor.”
Republic’s defense allowed it to jump ahead early, and the Tigers led 16-5 after the first quarter. The Tigers outscored Bolivar 20-11 in the second quarter, and it was 36-16 at halftime. Republic made five three-pointers in that second period: two by Rackley, two by Drew McMillin, and one by Smith.
Ian Jones led Bolivar with 18 points, including four of the Liberators’ ten threes.
The Tigers are now 5-2 heading into the first round of the Blue and Gold Tournament on December 26 against Hillcrest. Fisher says he feels pretty good about how his team is playing.
“We’re a little inconsistent at times, but when we’ve been good, we’ve been pretty good. We’ve just got to eliminate [the times] when we’re not real good, so we can still be solid and give ourselves a chance to win.
Republic plays Hillcrest next Tuesday at JQH Arena at 2 pm.
Individual Scoring
Broc Smith 30, Trent Rackley 18, Race Looney 6, Drew McMillin 6, Hunter Creek 4
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