Guards Ahlante Askew and Brenley Hagewood combined for 51 points to help Republic edge Rolla 70-64 in the third-place game of the Republic Invitational Saturday. Askew scored 29 and Hagewood 22.
The Tigers used a big first half to build a lead, then held off Rolla’s second-half charge. Republic scored the first six points of the game, built a 14-5 lead in the early minutes, and led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers stretched the lead as high as 11 points early in the second quarter, first at 22-11. A 9-2 run by Rolla got the Buldogs within four points, but Republic responded with a 16-7 run of its own for its biggest lead of the day at 40-27. The Tigers led 40-30 at the half.
Rolla slowly climbed back into the game throughout the third quarter, getting to within six points at 53-47, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get until their final bucket made the score 70-64.
The win improved Republic’s record to 2-1. Rolla fell to 2-2. The Tigers earned third place in their home tournament.
Bentonville, Ark., won the championship by defeating Springdale, Ark. Park Hill South defeated Liberty 63-46 to earn fifth place. Ozark edged West Plains 73-67 in overtime for seventh.
Scoring by Quarters
Rolla 9 21 17 17 – 64
Republic 14 26 16 14 – 70
Individual Scoring
Ahlante Askew 29, Brenley Hagewood 22, Gunner Ellison 7, Aslan Ebisch 5, Khamari Edwards 5, Isaiah Nabors 2
