For the second year in a row, a poor fourth quarter sank Republic at the Blue & Gold Tournament. This year, it cost the Tigers a semifinal victory against Ozark. Republic led 40-31 as the fourth quarter began, but Ozark outscored Republic 17-6 the rest of the way to capture a 48-46 victory.
The loss mirrored last year’s championship stunner, when the Tigers led 36-28 Springfield Catholic heading into the fourth quarter, but failed to score another field goal until only a few seconds remained on the clock. Instead of a rematch with Springfield Catholic in this year’s championship game, the Tigers will have to settle for a third-place game against Camdenton, whose Cinderella run was ended by a 91-57 drubbing at the hands of the Irish.
For the first three quarters, Republic’s defense held Ozark to just 31 points total, including nine in the third quarter. But foul trouble mounted for Republic in the second half, and Ozark took advantage, scoring nine of its 17 fourth-quarter points from the free throw line.
At the offensive end, Republic turned more tentative, and when the Tigers did have a chance to score, they were inconsistent. Republic missed a couple of layups and some key free throws that could have made the difference down the stretch.
A jumper by Ozark’s Parker Ramsdell with one second remaining––his only bucket of the game––was the game-winner. After each team called a timeout, Republic’s Trent Rackley threw a baseball pass to mid-court, where Broc Smith and two Ozark players converged. Smith was knocked to the ground, but officials didn’t call a foul, and Ozark escaped to play for a title Saturday night.
Republic falls to 8-3. The Tigers play Camdenton at 5:30 Saturday.
Scoring
Broc Smith 12, Trent Rackley 11, Drew McMillin 9, Tucker Thomas 9, Race Looney 5