Ahlante Askew was on the floor, seemingly out of options, and almost out of time. But his desperation heave from the seat of his pants ended up in the hands of Devon McMillin under the basket, and McMillin beat the buzzer to give Republic a thrilling 60-59 win over Webb City. It was a stunning reversal of fortune, and maybe, just maybe, it can become a metaphor for a Tiger season that seemed to have hit the skids, but suddenly seems back on track.
With six seconds remaining, the Tigers trailed 59-58, and they came out of the huddle with a plan designed to break their three-game losing streak. But that plan quickly went awry when Webb City knocked the ball away from Askew and it bounded into the middle of the lane. Askew scrambled to the floor and picked up the loose ball. From the seat of his pants, he threw the ball into the air, and it somehow eluded the trio of Webb City defenders standing over him.
McMillin, who was standing near the three-point line when the ball hit the floor, broke to the ball, picked it out of the air, and laid it into the basket less than a second before time expired.
Was Askew’s heave intended as a pass or a shot? Even he wasn’t sure after the game, saying he just knew he had to get rid of the ball for the Tigers to have a chance.
McMillin made the most of it, and in an instant, the future looks a little brighter for the Tigers, who had lost three straight games and seemed in danger of letting their year slide into oblivion. The thrilling win against Webb City breathes new life into the Tigers’ season as they prepare for their final regular season game next week against Ozark, followed by a tough district tournament.
“We’ve had so many of these games all year. We’ve got ten losses, and I think six of them have been decided by four points or less. And two more have been decided by six or less, but came down to the wire,” Brown said. “I told our guys, ‘We’re due.’ And what better way (to win) than for a senior in Devon McMillin, who plays so hard all the time, to not give up on a play and … score it at the end.”
Before McMillin’s game-winning layup, the Tigers and Cardinals had locked up in a back-and-forth game that was Republic’s tightest of the year, start-to-finish. Webb City outscored Republic 17-16 in the first quarter, and Republic returned the favor in the second, tying the game 33-33 at half. Neither team led by more than five points all night, and that only happened once, when Webb City grabbed a 23-18 lead briefly in the second quarter.
“I’m really proud of our kids. They battled the whole game,” said coach Tim Brown. “We battled through some foul trouble in the first half and we kept it tied, and we had some guys step up.”
Four different players reached double figures in scoring for Republic. Senior Avery Moody led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Brenley Hagewood, who missed the game at Nixa and has been recovering from that illness all week, scored 14 and grabbed five boards. McMillin had 12 points and Askew had ten.
Republic improves to 15-10 with one regular-season game remaining. They’ll host Ozark on Senior Night next Tuesday. Webb City falls to 16-8. The Tigers have beaten Webb City ten times in a row.
Republic Scoring
Avery Moody 21, Brenley Hagewood 14, Devon McMillin 12, Ahlante Askew 10,. Will Fronabarger 3
