Eight different players scored for Republic and the Tigers dominated the second half in a 61-28 over Springfield Glendale Wednesday during the second night of the Republic Invitational. Drew McMillin scored 25 points to lead Republic, who allowed just 12 points in the second half.
The Tigers were not dominant in the first quarter, at least on the scoreboard. Cold shooting by Republic kept the Falcons in the game, but the Tigers beat Glendale in just about every other facet of the game from the opening tip. Republic dominated the boards against a taller Glendale lineup, sometimes getting three or four shots on a possession. Solid rebounding and defense helped Republic overcome its slow shooting start to build a 13-9 lead after one period.
Watch our postgame show:
“We’ve said all along that we feel we’ve got a really deep team, and we had a lot of guys step up and play really well for us tonight,” said coach Tim Brown. “Obviously, we’ve got two (McMillin and Ahlante Askew) who most nights are going to lead us in scoring, but we’ve got a lot of other guys who really star in their role. That’s very rare, to have guys to buy into that and also star in it like they can.”
In particular in the first half, Avery Moody made several big plays, grabbing offensive rebounds and playing solid interior defense despite being outsized.
“If there’s anyone that resembles a Republic basketball player and the things we try to teach and get kids to buy into, it’s Avery Moody,” said Brown. “I think he took three charges and he tried to take three more, and they were legit. So I’m really proud of him. He does so many things for us. He has the ultimate respect from his teammates and his coaching staff.
“That’s what’s neat about this group. They’re guys that hook it up every single day in practice and they compete every day, and that’s why they’re able to come out and be rewarded.”
After the slow start, Republic began to pull away in the second quarter, outscoring the Falcons 17-7 to lead 30-16 at halftime. In the third quarter, Republic scored 26 points and allowed only five, building the lead to 56-21.
The clock ran continuously in the fourth quarter, with Glendale scoring seven points to Republic’s five.
McMillin’s 25 points topped his 20-point output in the season opener, despite the fact that he sat out the fourth quarter. He was the only Tiger in double figures in scoring, but seven of his teammates also ended up in the box score with points.
Carter Harrell scored ten points, all in the second half, to lead Glendale.
Republic improves to 2-0 overall. They’re 1-0 in their pool in the Republic Invitational, and will face Rolla Friday at 7:30. The winner of that game will play Springfield Parkview in the championship game at 3:00 Saturday. Parkview earned its spot in the championship game by Ozark in pool play 76-70 Wednesday. The Vikings had beaten Rogersville Monday.
The loser of the Republic/Rolla game will play at 1:30 for third place against the winner of the Rogersville/Ozark game, which will be played Friday at 6:00 pm.
Glendale is 0-2 in the tournament. They’ll play the loser of the Rogersville/Ozark game for fifth place Saturday at noon.
Scoring
Republic: Drew McMillin 25, Ahlante Askew 8, Tyson Young 6, Avery Moody 6, Will Fronabarger 6, Dalton Parks 4, Devon McMillin 3, Carson Neff 3
