For the second straight game, Republic pushed a state-ranked team to the limit before losing in the final minutes. Thursday, the opponent was Jefferson City Helias, who outscored the Tigers 23-14 in the final quarter to escape with a 57-51 win in the opening round of the Rogersville tournament.
In the early-going, the Tigers used tight half-court defense to hold the Crusaders’ much bigger lineup in check. Republic led 15-13 after one quarter, and took a 30-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. Coach Trevyor Fisher says the key to the defense was keeping controlling Helias point guard Isiah Sykes.
“They do have good size, but what’s key to their team is Sykes, their point guard,” Fisher says. “He breaks the defense down and he’s the reason those big guys have opportunities.”
Sykes got his points–finishing with 18–but Republic’s defense limited his opportunities to distribute the ball to his teammates. Heading into the 4th quarter, the Tigers held a 37-34 lead, and looked poised to pull off the upset.
But Helias scored five straight to grab the lead early in the fourth quarter, and pushed the lead to 54-44 with a 20-7 run. The Tigers fought back to get the lead down to four, but couldn’t finish the late comeback.
“They got away from us late, but it all stemmed from penetrating. We did a good job of guarding them for the most part. They had a couple guys step up late and make big plays,” Fisher says.
Brock Yocum finished with a game-high 21 points for the Tigers. Tim Brazeal scored 11. Tristan Ollar scored six, Blake Fanning had four, Brady McGill and Ty Stevens each scored three, Mitch Coiner scored two, and Cameron Doke had one.
Since a horrible first half at Waynesville, Republic has been a different team, going toe-to-toe with two state-ranked teams. Coach Trevyor Fisher has noticed the difference.
“The biggest thing is we’re playing with more confidence. I think what’s giving us confidence offensively is our aggressiveness defensively,” Fisher says. “Guys are starting to figure out this is the end of the road–let’s start playing. Nothing to lose, care-free, whatever you want to call it. I can’t really put my thumb on it, but I think our mental focus has been better.
“I’m proud of our effort. We’ve got to bounce back, forget about today, and try to win two more.”
The Tigers fall to 7-9. They play at 4:30 Friday in the second round of the tournament.
