Republic hung tough against the defending Oklahoma Class 5 state champions, but fell short in a 61-50 loss to Tulsa Memorial at the Ozark Mountain Shootout in Springfield Friday. Memorial came to Springfield with a roster stocked with Division 1 talent, including twins Keylan Boone (6’7″) and Kalib Boone (6’9″), who’ve committed to Oklahoma State University.
“That’s a team that really wants to get out and run up and down the floor and we didn’t want to allow that, and I thought we did a pretty good job early,” says Republic coach Tim Brown. “Some mistakes we’ve been making in other games in trying to make some hard plays or maybe stray away and shoot a quick shot–against a team like , three of those plays are an automatic six or more points.”
Memorial took advantage of enough Republic mistakes early to build a double-digit lead, but they never put the game completely out of reach. That was partly due to the play of Republic sophomore Drew McMillin, who lit up the scoreboard with a team-high 20 points.
In the fourth quarter, senior Broc Smith got hot as well, scoring 10 of his 17 points; Trent Rackley added a couple of three-pointers, and the Tigers climbed back into the game. They cut the lead to seven down the stretch, but couldn’t get any closer.
“I was proud of our kids,” Brown says. “I thought we competed and battled the whole night. We kept saying in time outs in the second half, just keep doing the things that we’re preaching in the game plan and give yourself a chance at the end. And I thought our kids did that. To get it under 10 with under a minute left, after being down 14-15 the whole second half, I thought it showed a lot of character.”
The Chargers were led by the Boone brothers: Keylan scored 24 and Kalib scored 16, accounting for about two-thirds of Tulsa Memorial’s points.
Brown says his Tigers played as a team, even when things weren’t going their way in the first half against bigger, more athletic opponents.
“Our guys stayed together. You know, the plays that team was making, we’re not probably going to see again this year––and from all five positions, then three more coming in. We’re going to play teams that are … more athletic than us in our district and conference, and so we need to make sure that we’re well tested and prepared for those matchups, and this is a great opportunity for us to be prepared tonight in an environment like this.”
Republic falls to 2-2 this season.
Scoring
Drew McMillin 20, Broc Smith 17, Trent Rackley 6, Race Looney 3, Tucker Thomas 2, Jaden Duvall 2
