Bolivar scored the first bucket of the night at Republic Friday to take a 2-0 lead. But after Republic went on top 4-2 lead, the Liberators never pulled even again – until it counted most. Bolivar (Class 5 #1) evened the score on its final possession of regulation and came from behind to beat Republic in overtime, 58-54.
Republic led by double digits on more than one occasion, but the Liberators fought their way back to get within striking distance as time wound down. Bolivar’s Kyle Pock made a contested, off-balance three-pointer with 21.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game 48-48. Republic had a chance to win it, but failed to break the tie on its final possession. And when Bolivar scored the first four points of overtime, it was the Liberators’ biggest lead of the night. The Tigers kept the game close, but never tied the score again.
“We played good enough to win. Our effort was great. We just played the #1 team in Class 5…and should have won the game,” said coach Tim Brown. “It took a heroic shot from a really good player to send it into overtime.”
Pock finished with 17 points, but before he made his game-tying three-pointer, Devon McMillin had held Pock to just eight points and one field goal all night.
“I don’t think kids who play defense get enough credit sometimes, but Devon McMillin had held (Pock) to single digits,” Brown said. “Dev did a great job.
“Our whole team did a great job. You look at their lineup, and they’re huge. And I thought we were physical and…did a good job on the backboards, and we played good enough to win.”
Brown said he doesn’t want a “moral victory” out of the close loss, but he sees a positive in the game because it has set a standard of how well the team can play.
“We’ve just got to take one of those home on the winning side,” he said.
The Republic offense took a hit when Ahlante Askew, who had shredded the Bolivar defense all night, began suffering from cramps in the second half. He returned to the game twice after leaving in pain, but Bolivar used Askew’s absence to get back into the game.
“I thought he was as impressive a player on the floor tonight as anyone. He dominated as much as any player,” said Brown of Askew. “I think (his injury) took a little bit of aggressiveness away. But he gutted it and I’m proud of him. It doesn’t take anything away from what our guys did.”
Republic led 17-9 after the first quarter and 26-20 at halftime. Bolivar cut Republic’s lead to five, 44-39, by the end of the third quarter – then outscored Republic 9-4 in the fourth to force overtime. The Liberator won the overtime period 10-6.
Bolivar is 7-0. The Tigers fall to 3-3. Republic is back home Tuesday against Springfield Hillcrest, and Republic Tiger Sports will carry the game live.
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