Republic celebrated its seniors, celebrated a convincing win over rival Ozark, and celebrated a couple of individual milestones, to boot. By the time the night was over, the Tigers were 63-56 winners, wrapping their regular season with a 19-7 record; Race Looney was Republic’s all-time career assist leader; and Drew McMillin had surpassed 1,000 career points.
The score was even in the first quarter, 9-9, when Republic blasted Ozark with 18-4 run fueled by intense defense, fast-break offense, and a raucous crowd that amplified Republic’s play. When Joe Rexroat stole the ball and sprinted to the other end of the court for a finger-roll layup, Republic led 27-13. Republic led 39 20 at halftime.
After McMillin scored two buckets in the opening minutes of the second half, the lead peaked at 21, 43-22. Only a barrage of three-pointers by Ozark kept the game from being a runaway. Ozark made five three-pointers in the third quarter alone to whittle the lead down to 11 points. They made three more in the third quarter, including one as time expired, but still never got closer than eight points before the buzzer-beater made the final margin seven.
Coach Tim Brown said he and his team knew the final four-game stretch of the regular season, with games against Joplin, Nixa, Webb City, and Ozark, would be among the toughest of the year.
“We knew it would be tough to walk away with any (wins), and after losing the first two, we knew we had our work cut out. I’m proud of our guys for battling Friday night (against Webb City) … and then a similar type effort from our guys tonight. Any time you’re able to beat a good program … twice in a season, it says a lot about your program and your kids.”
Republic had beaten Ozark for third place in the Blue & Gold Tournament over Christmas break.
Before the game, Republic celebrated its seniors: Will Berry, Race Looney, Trevor Porter, Joe Rexroat, Nate Woolford.
“I’ve said it all along … it’s a very professional group of seniors,” said coach Tim Brown. “It’s a group that you can count on to be there every day and you can count on them to do their job and work. It’s a group that’s dependable … not only this year, but last year. I’m just glad we could send them off in a special way.”
The night not only included a win over a league rival, it also included two individual milestones on consecutive possessions. In the middle of the third quarter, Drew McMillin took the ball just inside the free throw line on the dribble, pulled up, and floated a high-arching shot through the net to give him 20 points for the game. The bucket also cracked the 1,000-point milestone for his career, putting him at 1,001.
That didn’t last long, because on the next trip down the floor, Race Looney, standing 25 feet from the basket, whipped a two-handed pass to Drew McMillin cutting up the right side of the lane. McMillin took the pass in stride and laid the ball into the basket, helping Looney pick up his 312th career assist. That broke the previous school record for assists in a career, 311, set by Kirk Grantham, who graduated in 1988.
Republic finished the conference season with a 7-2 record, one game behind Joplin and Nixa, who tied for the title at 8-1. Ozark is 6-2, with one game left against Webb City.
The Tigers are off until next Tuesday, when they open district play against host Carthage. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., and Republic Tiger Sports will carry the game live.
Republic scoring: Drew McMillin 25, Race Looney 14, Joe Rexroat 11, Ahlante Askew 8, Carson Neff 2, Nate Woolford 2, Will Berry 1
