The Helias Crusaders’ defense did to Republic what Republic has been doing to everyone else – holding the Tigers to single-digit scoring in the first quarter and disrupting the Tigers’ offense all day in a 68-57 win for the championship of the Bolivar Liberator Tournament.
“They had more juice than we did. We were just kind of a step slower in all aspects (of the game),” said coach Tim Brown. “They were real physical with our guards and were able to push us off screens, and there’s times when you’ve gotta be a little bit tougher and initiate some of that contact so it’s more noticeable.”
Helias held Republic to four first-quarter points, but Republic’s defense was good enough to keep the Tigers close. Republic trailed 9-4 after the first quarter. Drew McMillin scored ten points in the second quarter as the Tigers picked up the pace offensively, but Helias was even better, outscoring the Tigers 20-11 to build a 29-20 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Ahlante Askew, who had missed most of the last two games with an injured ankle, picked up the slack offensively, scoring eight points, but besides a Carson Neff three-pointer, that was the only scoring of the period for Republic. Helias stretched its lead to 44-31 heading into the fourth. The Tigers managed to get the lead down below ten on a few occasions, but missed several free throws and were unable to close the gap.
It was just the second loss of the year for Republic, but Brown said he’s satisfied that the tournament was a worthwhile weekend for his team.
“We just kind of ran out of gas, but I felt overall, we got better this tournament. We said coming in, we need to get better this week. There’s no more pre-test – it’s all conference games from here on out,” Brown said. “Last night, we had a lot of guys step up with ‘Te not going, and it was good to see ‘Te get going in the second half (today). We kept fighting until the end, and we were able to get better defensively on situational things.
“So I’m excited about where we’re going to continue to go with our basketball team and to jump into league play. That’s why we’ve played all these games… to give ourselves a chance in the league.”
Republic is 16-2. The Tigers return to conference play Tuesday night at Branson.me
