After 25 days of practice, Republic finally got to take out some pent-up frustration on an opponent Thursday night, and Fort Smith Southside was the unfortunate victim. The Tigers outshot, out-rebounded, and out-defended the Mavericks in a one-sided romp, 73-32, in the first round of the 55th Republic Invitational.
“We had a lot of time to prepare… a lot of time to prepare, and our guys were just ready to play,” said coach Tim Brown. “We fed off our student section. They were awesome tonight. It was great seeing them. Hopefully they’ll come out tomorrow night and give us the same type atmosphere.”
It took a little while for the Tigers to warm up against the Mavericks, who had already played a few games because Arkansas starts its high school basketball season before Missouri. Southside grabbed an 11-8 lead, but Republic ripped off a 23-3 run over the next several minutes to take control at 31-14. The Tigers led 38-23 at halftime, aided largely by their domination on the glass. For most of the night, Southside got just one shot on each possession. The Tigers tallied 28 rebounds, while the Mavericks managed just 14.
“Our attention to detail defensively in blocking out was really, really good,” Brown said. “They had a really impressive guard that made some really hard shots for them. Anytime you’re able to hold a team to 32 , you did something well.”
Drew McMillin led Republic with 20 points, including four three-pointers. But his best play of the night may have been a step-back 18-foot jumper on a fast break in the second half that found the bottom of the net and fired up the already-rowdy student section even more. In all, nine different players scored for Republic.
“A lot of guys got their first chance to play some varsity action. Even early on in the game, we went to our bench –– something I think could be a strength of ours throughout the season, and we’ll see how that progresses,” Brown said.
Republic outscored the Mavericks 35-9 in the second half to run away with the game. Race Looney and the rest of the Republic guards took care of the ball, committing just five turnovers all night, compared to Southside’s 13.
The Tigers take a 1-0 record into the Republic Invitational semifinals Friday night at 8:30. They’ll play Rogersville, who advanced to the semis with a 71-50 win over Lincoln College Prep Thursday night.
Republic 73, Opponent 32
Republic Scoring
Drew McMillin 20, Tucker Thomas 10, Race Looney 9, Joe Rexroat 9, Nate Woolford 6, Carson Neff 6, Ahlante Askew 5, Will Berry 4, Trevor Porter 4
Rebounds: Republic 28, Fort Smith Southside 14
Turnovers: Republic 5, Fort Smith Southside 13