For the second game in a row, Republic fell short in the final four minutes against a conference opponent on the road. Tuesday, it was at Nixa in a 53-48 loss – a game that mirrored the Tigers’ loss four days ago at Joplin.
In both games, Republic’s opponent jumped ahead by 11 points in the first half, only to watch the Tigers storm back to take the lead. In both games, the teams traded baskets through most of the second half. And unfortunately for the Tigers, in both games, their opponent made big plays at key times to snatch the victory away from Republic.
Tuesday’s turning point came with 1:47 remaining and Nixa up by two points. Kael Combs, who came alive in the fourth quarter to score ten points, forced a turnover on the defensive end, knocking the ball out of bounds off Joe Rexroat’s leg. The Eagles scored another bucket at the other end to take a four-point lead, then Combs intercepted a pass to set up two more points for Nixa, making the score 51-45. The Eagles eventually led by as many as eight points before a Race Looney three-pointer was ruled good ahead of the buzzer to account for the final margin.
Republic had trailed 15-4 at the end of the first quarter, but outscored Nixa 11-5 in the second period to cut the gap to 20-15. A 20-point third quarter helped the Tigers take the lead first on a three-pointer by Ahlante Askew from the left corner — then again on a three-pointer by Looney from the same spot on their last shot of the period.
In the fourth quarter, the lead changed hands five times, and the score was tied on two different occasions before Nixa pulled away.
Republic falls to 17-6 overall and 5-2 in the conference. Nixa is now 18-6 and 6-1 in the conference. The Eagles are tied with Joplin at 6-1 in first place. Republic is a game back at 5-2. The Tigers host Webb City, now 4-2 in the COC, on Friday.
Republic scoring: Drew McMillin 17, Race Looney 16, Joe Rexroat 9, Ahlante Askew 3, Will Berry 2, Carson Neff 1
