The Republic defense cracked down and Ahlante Askew stepped up in the final minutes of the Blue & Gold quarterfinals. The sixth-seeded Tigers held Ava, the #3 seed, to just one field goal in the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 52-39 win over the Bears. Askew finished with 19 points and Republic outscored Ava 13-5 in the fourth quarter to advance to a semifinal matchup against Ozark.
Republic coach Tim Brown made defensive adjustments in the second half to control Andrew Dalton, Ava’s top scorer. That helped Republic regain control after Ava had closed the gap to within four points late in the third quarter, 36-32.
“We had to go to a box-and-one and junk them up a little bit defensively, and I thought that really kind of slowed down the rhythm,” Brown said. “Dalton’s a … great high school player. I think he had as many points in the third quarter as he had in the entire first half.”
In addition to the defensive changes, Ahlante Askew made a key three-pointer immediately after Ava had cut the lead to four, stretching it back to seven points. Another basket by the Bears made the score 39-34 Republic as the fourth quarter began.
Ava started the fourth quarter with one free throw to cut the lead to four again, but Republic controlled the game from there. A three-pointer by Brenley Hagewood made it a seven-point lead, and a nifty drive and dish by Askew to James Rexroat put Republic on top by nine.
The Tigers eventually put together a 15-1 run to take a 52-36 lead before Ava buried a three when the game was out of reach.
“We were able to get them to come out and chase us more, and it opened up the basket and allowed us to get some shots at the rim,” Brown said.
The game didn’t begin until about 10 pm, and Brown said that may have been a factor in the slow pace of the second half.
“I thought our offense got really stagnant there in the third quarter,” he said. “But our kids did a good job of responding in the fourth.”
Republic will meet Ozark in the semifinals after Ozark beat Rogersville on a buzzer-beating tip-in Tuesday. Republic Tiger Sports will carry the game live on YouTube. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30.
Republic Scoring
Ahlante Askew 19, Brenley Hagewood 12, Devon McMillin 6, Khamari Edwards 6, James Rexroat 4, Jordan Douglas 3, Gunner Ellison 2
Get every story delivered.
Tiger Wire — Republic sports news, free every morning.