Ahlante Askew got his motor running right from the opening tip, and the rest of the team joined him shortly thereafter. Askew scored eight points in the first quarter and 20 in the game to lead Republic to a 64-24 romp over Fair Grove in the opening round of the Blue & Gold Tournament at Hammons Student Center Monday.
“Our goal coming in was to obviously take care of business… try to get guys going that need to see the ball go through the rim. But it was also to play a lot of guys and rest guys, even in the first half,” said coach Tim Brown. “The first half, we didn’t look very good at times. We were going a little too fast, we didn’t finish possessions, but some of that had to do with the fact that we were trying to speed them up a little bit.”
Askew’s fast start helped the Tigers take advantage of a lockdown defensive effort in the early minutes, as they built a 14-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Republic continued to struggle offensively in the second quarter, and they led only by 11 points at halftime, 24-13, against an unseeded Fair Grove team that was missing four of its top six players because of quarantines.
But in the second half, Republic found its offensive rhythm, outscoring the Eagles 26-7 in the third quarter. Drew McMillin and Carson Neff each made two three-pointers and scored eight points in the period. By the time the fourth quarter started, Republic led by 30 points, 50-20.
Nine different players scored for Republic, while the Republic defense held Fair Grove to single digits in all four quarters, allowing four, nine, seven, and four points.
The Tigers advance to play Crane in the quarterfinals. Crane beat Willow Springs in its tournament opener.
“Crane’s a very proud program that last year, had a really good Nixa program on the ropes,” Brown said. “We’re going to have our hands full. They’ve got two guards that are ‘COC-good,’ so we’re going to have a good test.”
Republic and Crane play at 5 pm Tuesday at Hammons Student Center.
Republic Scoring
Ahlante Askew 20, Drew McMillin 18, Carson Neff 8, Tyson Young 4, Oliver Welch 4, Avery Moody 2, McCord Deken 2, Gavyn Beckner 2
