Coach Tim Brown told his players they were potentially stepping into a trap Tuesday night against Clever. Republic was riding high after winning its home tournament Saturday, but traveled down the road to Clever, where the underdog Blue Jays were sure to take aim at the target on Republic’s back.
But the trap was never sprung, and Republic escaped Clever with a 78-50 win. The Tigers pounced early, leading by double digits in the first half to put away any thought of an upset.
“I thought our guys did a good job of coming out tonight ready to play and handling their business,” said coach Tim Brown. “We did a great job of defending their best player who scored 88 points in 3 games last week, and held him to single digits. We also did a nice job of spreading the ball around offensively and have guys step up make finish plays.”
Four different players scored in double figures for Republic. Ahlante Askew led the way with 20 points. Drew McMillin added 13, Will Fronabarger scored 12, and Avery Moody finished with 11.
Republic improves to 5-0. The Tigers are off until December 15, when they travel to Springfield Hillcrest. They follow that up with a game at Bolivar on December 18.
