Republic took three quarters to kick into high gear Saturday in the Blue & Gold semifinals against Kickapoo, and by then it was too late for the Tigers in a 53-44 loss. The Chiefs jumped to a double-digit lead in the first quarter at 18-8, then stretched it to 30-18 by halftime.
“I think we started really lethargic for some reason. To come out on your heels in a Blue & Gold semifinal game against a good program like Kickapoo and expect to win – that’s just not going to happen,” said coach Tim Brown.
Republic’s defense kept it close, but the Tigers struggled all night at the offensive end of the floor.
“That’s what we talked about at halftime. When you’re lethargic and you do things half speed offensively, and the ball sticks and you don’t get it moving, you’re not going to make shots,” Brown said. “We need to have that offensive rhythm to make shots. We talked about having that offensive rhythm last night. Give credit. There’s things they did to try to eliminate us from having that rhythm.”
Republic fell behind by as many as 18 points, but tried to make a game of it in the fourth quarter. They cut the lead to nine points and had the ball with more than a minute remaining, but turned it over and never got closer than that.
“We showed some life finally late; just a little too late,” Brown said.
Drew McMillin scored 12 points to lead Republic, most of them from the free throw line. Ahlante Askew scored 11 and Tucker Thomas was also in double figures with ten.
Republic falls to 5-4. The Tigers play for third place Monday at 5:30 at JQH Arena against Ozark. Ozark lost to Greenwood in the other Gold Division semifinal.
Republic scoring: Drew McMillin 12, Ahlante Askew 11, Tucker Thomas 10, Will Berry 6, Joe Rexroat 5
