Midway through the first quarter of their game in Springfield Tuesday, Republic and Hillcrest were trading baskets — a couple of teams with lots of talented offensive players making things very difficult for the defenses. But when Republic switched to a rarely used zone defense, the Hornets went flat and the Tigers pulled away. Republic dominated the next two and a half quarters, eventually leading by as many as 28 points on the way to a 77-55 win at Hillcrest.
“We try to pay attention to detail as best we can and do our homework on teams. We watch a lot of film and do a lot of scouting, and we’d seen them kind of struggle against (zone) at times,” said coach Tim Brown. “They’re a team that has four explosive guys on offense and you could see the way the game started, they posed a lot of problems for us matchup-wise. We felt like they were in a good offensive rhythm to start the game on their home floor, and throwing (the zone defense) out couldn’t be any worse.”
Faced with the zone, the Hornets wasted several possessions, struggling to find an angle of attack and failing to get a good shot, if they got a shot at all.
“We thought maybe we could make them slow down instead of reacting and reading, and I think that definitely helped us throughout the game. It got us the lead and some confidence that we needed to be in a position to control the game,” he said.
While Hillcrest faltered, the Republic offense kept cruising. From the point that Republic switched defenses until the end of the third quarter, Republic outscored Hillcrest by 22 points, 53-31.
Four different players scored in double figures, led by Brenley Hagewood. The sophomore had one of his best varsity performances, scoring 23 points, including ten in the third quarter. Ahlante Askew had 13, while James Rexroat and Aslan Ebisch each contributed ten.
The Tigers improved to 5-1 overall. Hillcrest falls to 3-3. The Tigers will be back in action Friday at Bolivar against the state-ranked Liberators, and Republic Tiger Sports plans to carry the game live.
Score by Quarters
Republic 19 19 26 13 – 77
Hillcrest 11 9 19 16 – 55
Individual Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 23, Ahlante Askew 13, James Rexroat 10, Aslan Ebisch, Khamari Edwards 7, Isaiah Nabors 6, Gunner Ellison 5, Jordan Douglas 3
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