Joplin played a little bit better than Republic throughout their district quarterfinal, out-scoring the Tigers in every quarter on the way to a 63-53 win.
The Eagles took advantage of a Republic cold spell to take control of the game in the third quarter. Joplin led 34-30 with five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third quarter, but a three-pointer by All Wright sparked an 8-0 run for the Eagles. Wright had three treys in the key stretch of the third quarter for Joplin.
“They went through a stretch where they scored it really easily, and we went through a stretch where we struggled to score,” said coach Tim Brown. “When we have to play down nine or ten (points), it makes things a little difficult for us. We had to speed up a little bit. wanted to get up and down… and we needed it to be a grinder. But our kids didn’t back down and they kept fighting.”
Joplin built a 12-point lead, but when the fourth quarter began, Republic had whittled the margin to nine points at 49-40, and they kept plugging away. When Avery Moody made a jumper from the free throw line with 2:01 left, the Tigers had cut the lead to five points, 56-51. That was as close as they’d get.
Joplin responded again with four straight points and the Eagles made most of their free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
“Credit to that group,” Brown said of his team. “They fight. They compete. They’re professional, and they’ve made sure our program’s still healthy. Even though we’ve had some disappointing losses this year, it’s not because of our culture. It’s not because we took steps backwards. We were, just for a lack of better words, unlucky at times, but I’m really proud of our team.”
Joplin advances to the district semifinals to meet top-seeded Nixa Wednesday. The Eagles are 19-7.
Republic finishes its season 15-11. Of their 11 losses, seven were by four points or less. The loss marked the last game for seniors Will Fronabarger, Devon McMillin, and Avery Moody. Brown said he’s been impressed all season by how his team handled the uncertainty caused by injuries to Fronabarger and Moody.
“A lot of guys did different things throughout the year. We had to have all hands on deck, and that’s hard sometimes, because you never know what you’re role’s going to be. Credit to them for being mature enough to handle that and being happy for their teammates. Those are all life skills, and I’m just really proud of our group overall.”
Republic Scoring
Avery Moody 16, Brenley Hagewood 10, Devon McMillin 10, Ahlante Askew 9, Will Fronabarger 6
