Republic finished an impressive march through the field of its home tournament, whipping Springfield Parkview 61-53 to become champions of the 2020 Republic Invitational. Drew McMillin exploded for a season-high 30 points and the Tigers got contributions up and down the lineup as they won their fourth straight game to start the season.
“I think I said coming into this season…it may be the most bought-in team I’ve ever had. And I think looking this week at what we did and how we did it just goes to prove that we’ve got a bunch of guys that are pulling in the same direction,” said coach Tim Brown. “That’s special, especially in today’s day and age, where everybody wants to have individual instant success. And we’ve got a bunch of guys that care about our team and our team’s success.”
For the third time in three tournament games, McMillin and Ahlante Askew were the Tigers’ two leading scorers. Askew had 13 Saturday. But Brown said they’ll be the first to credit their teammates for making that happen.
“‘Te and Drew get a lot of the headlines, but we’ve got a lot of other guys that we’re proud of. We talk all the time about Republic basketball being a group of grinders and tough kids. And man, we got it. We’ve got a whole locker room full of that, and we’re just as proud of those guys and they make just as much happen and allow those other two to … finish plays. And that’s what those two would tell you.”
Saturday, Republic and Parkview traded buckets early, with four lead changes in the first few minutes. But a 9-0 run by the Tigers put them out front and they never trailed again. Republic led 17-12 after one quarter and 28-18 at halftime. It was 43-30 going into the fourth quarter.
Parkview stayed in the game with long-range shooting, making 11 three-pointers, including eight in the second half. McMillin, who’s known as an outside shooter, didn’t make a single three, despite his season-high scoring output.
“I think in basketball circles, Drew kind of gets put in a box as a ‘shooter.’ But he’s just a really good basketball player, and I think he’s proven that this year in how he’s worked at his game to expand it.”
Republic scoring
Drew McMillin 30, Ahlante Askew 13, Avery Moody 6, Devon McMillin 6, Will Fronabarger 5, Carson Neff 1
