Republic shut down Quinn Nelson and the vaunted Ozark offense Thursday night in a wild, 51-45 victory in the Gold Division semifinals at the Blue & Gold Tournament.
Top-seeded Ozark had averaged 70 points in its two tournament wins before Thursday, but managed just 17 points in the first half against a box-and-one defense that kept at least one defender — often Jaden Duvall or Race Looney — on Nelson all the time.
“We wanted to limit touches and his open looks — make him more of a passer, and try to have those other guys that don’t normally shoot as much make plays,” says coach Trevyor Fisher. “I thought we did a good job of that.”
Ozark jumped on top early, but Republic used a 17-6 run in the middle of the first half to take the lead 21-15. It was 21-17 at halftime.
Ozark’s Kristian Cooper made consecutive three-pointers to start the second half, putting his team back on top, but Republic reeled off ten straight points of its own, stretching its lead to 31-23 before Ozark got on the board again. Heading into the fourth quarter, it was 33-27.
The fourth quarter went back and forth, with Republic stretching the lead, only to have Ozark respond. With a little over a minute left, Republic led 44-35 and seemed to have put the game out of reach. But turnovers let Ozark back into the game, and the lead eventually shrunk to two points at 46-44, when Nelson drained a long three-pointer with less than 30 seconds remaining. Broc Smith hit a couple of free throws on the next possession to help put the game away.
What’s it like to be the coach during a game with such a wild, unpredictable ending?
“Not very fun,” says Fisher. “You’re just holding on for dear life and trusting that the guys are going to make the right plays. We tried to give it away at times, but you knew that was going to happen with the way they play defense, and we were able to withstand that and keep our composure and make enough plays down the stretch.”
Broc Smith led Republic with 16 points. He also added 13 rebounds. Trent Rackley scored 12 after spending most of the quarterfinal game on the bench with an ankle injury.
“Not knowing if he was going to be able to play, and for him to come out and make some open shots, that’s always a big key,” Fisher says of Rackley. “I thought he was active on the defensive end and helped us rebound. We need other guys besides Brock to step up and score for us, and he was able to do that.”
Nelson scored only 11 points for Ozark. Payton Nichols led Ozark with 12.
Republic improves to 7-2. The Tigers play Springfield Catholic for the Gold Division championship Friday night at 8:30. Catholic beat Rogersville 68-51 in the other semifinal.
“That’s always your goal when you start a tournament, is to have a chance to win a title, and we put ourselves in a position to do that,” Fisher says. “Tonight’s win was great, but we’ve got to enjoy it for about ten minutes, then get ready to go for tomorrow.”
Individual Scoring
Broc Smith 16, Trent Rackley 12, Race Looney 8, Hunter Creek 7, Tucker Thomas 5, Drew McMillin 2