Republic fought its way back from a double-digit first-half deficit, but Joplin made just enough plays and caught just enough breaks to out-last the Tigers in Joplin Friday, 51-46. The loss was first of the Central Ozark Conference season for Republic and the first since Tim Brown took over the head coaching job at the beginning of last season.
The game was tied as late as 2:30 remaining, but Joplin (16-5, 5-1) made one more defensive stop than the Tigers (17-6, 5-1) to secure the victory on its homecoming night.
“I was really proud of our guys,” said coach Tim Brown. “There were some things … from an execution standpoint that we didn’t do a very good job of, and that’s a lot due to athleticism and the fact that they … pose a lot of problems for us that you can’t really practice against and prepare for. But man, we battled the whole game. We just couldn’t get over the hump and stay over the hump. So I was really proud of our guys.”
The Eagles’ athletic lineup stifled Republic’s usual playmakers in the first quarter, and at the other end of the floor, Joplin’s quickness posed problems for the Tiger defense. At the end of the first quarter, Joplin led 15-8, and the lead eventually stretched to 11 points at 23-12 in the middle of the second period.
But Republic responded after adjusting to Joplin’s quickness and to the hands-off officiating style, reeling off 13 straight points to briefly take the lead before halftime. A three-pointer by Joplin’s Dakarai Allen just before the end of the period put Joplin on top 26-25 at the break.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle, with neither team leading by more than five points the rest of the way. Joplin outscored the Tigers 12-11 in the third quarter to take a 38-36 lead into the final quarter. Joplin held the ball for nearly two minutes with Republic playing a box-and-one defense, and when Republic finally extended its defense, the Tigers immediately forced a turnover and got a layup to tie the game 38-38.
Joplin held the ball for a minute on its next possession, too, with Republic sitting back on defense and letting the clock run. Republic got a stop on defense but turned the ball back over, and Joplin re-took the lead. The Eagles got a stop on defense and scored again on an offensive put-back at the other end to take a 42-38 lead.
But the Tigers responded with four straight points to even the game again with about 2:30 remaining. Drew McMillin scored four straight to make the score 42-42.
Isaiah Davis made two free throws on Joplin’s next possession, and Joplin took the ball away from Republic at the other end of the floor. Another Joplin free throw made it 45-42 with 1:40 remaining.
With 1:01 left, two Will Berry free throws cut the lead back to one, but the ensuing throw-in by Joplin was the play of the game. With Republic in a full-court press, Isaiah Davis threw a long baseball pass to Zach Westmoreland, who caught the ball in stride and dunked it at the other end to give Joplin a three-point lead again.
Drew McMillin had a shot to tie the game on a step-back three-point attempt, but it was off the mark. On the ensuing battle for the rebound, Republic’s Ahlante Askew was whistled for a foul as he fell down, and the Eagles’ Will Rader made two free throws to essentially put the game out of reach.
Brown and the Tigers know they may get another crack at the Eagles on a neutral floor when the post-season rolls around.
“There’s things that we can correct, I think, and we got the effort we needed. We just didn’t finish them,” he said. “There are things to learn from, things to take back, and hopefully we get another shot at them down the road.”
Republic scoring: Joe Rexroat 17, Race Looney 12, Drew McMillin 8, Ahlante Askew 7, Will Berry 7
