Republic basketball doesn’t keep an official record of individual points in a quarter, but it’s hard to imagine anyone having a much better eight-minute stretch than Ahlante Askew’s third quarter against Carl Junction Thursday in a 64-31 Tiger win.
Askew made a three-pointer on Republic’s first possession of the second half. He made another on the second. Then another on the third. He had nine points in the first minute and a half of the third quarter, and by the time the period had ended, Askew had scored 16 points and knocked down four three-pointers, helping Republic extend a 30-13 halftime lead to 58-23 when the fourth quarter started.
Askew’s momentum rubbed off on his teammates during his hot start to the half. Drew Mcmillin and Carson Neff drained three-pointers, as well, to help the Tigers put the game away.
In the first half, Republic built a 17-point halftime lead despite not playing especially well offensively.
“I thought we just missed a lot of really good looks. I’m proud of our guys for not basing their success on making shots, and still guarding and doing the little things. And I told our guys , ‘Let’s reward ourselves on both ends. And there were some defensive things that we thought we could clean up, and that’s kind of what started all that,” said coach Tim Brown. “We had some guys do what they needed to do defensively and be in the right spot.”
Brown said when a player gets as hot as Askew, he enjoys watching him as much as anyone else.
“When you have a guy get hot like that, like ‘Te did, it’s just fun to watch,” Brown said. “And it says a lot about our team that … you would have thought made all those shots with how happy they were. And I think that just pretty much summarizes the Republic basketball program right now, and why we’re having such a fun season and such a successful season so far.”
The Tigers are now 13-1 (2-0 in the Central Ozark Conference). They’ll be back in action for a non-conference game next Tuesday when Sedalia Smith-Cotton comes to town. Republic Tiger Sports will carry the game live.
Republic Scoring
Ahlante Askew 24, Drew Mcmillin 16, Avery Moody 6, Tyson Young 4, Devon McMillin 4, Will Fronabarger 3, Carson Neff 3, Oliver Welch 2, McCord Deken 2
