Don’t tell the Tigers the number 13 is unlucky.
Republic won its 13th game in a row on Friday the 13th, knocking off Joplin on its home court with a 65-63 win in overtime. Brenley Hagewood scored 11 points over the final 12 minutes, and James Rexroat converted a pivotal three-point play in the overtime period to help the Tigers overcome the Eagles and a difficult environment Friday night.
The Tigers started the game with a cold shooting touch and an uncharacteristic case of butterfingers, giving the ball back to Joplin too frequently and failing to make the shots they did take. The Eagles took advantage to grab an early 10-2 lead and still had a 16-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter. They had extended the lead to four points by halftime, 28-24, but Coach Tim Brown said he and his players felt good about the situation, given how poorly they’d started the game.
“It felt like we were down by 15, because it didn’t feel like we had a real clean half, so to only be down by four, we felt like we were in pretty good shape,” he said. “And I thought our start to the second half was exactly what we needed.”
Khamari Edwards got the half off to an exciting start. He put the ball on the floor at the top of the key, found an opening up the middle of the lane, and threw down a prodigious dunk on Republic’s first possession. The Tigers followed that up with a defensive stop, and Ahlante Askew dropped in a three-point bomb on the next possession to give Republic its first lead of the night.
By the time the third quarter was over, Republic had outscored Joplin 16-10 and had taken a 40-38 lead. And the Tigers maintained that lead through most of the fourth quarter, even extending it to six points on a couple of occasions. When Brenley Hagewood made two free throws with 53 seconds remaining, the Tigers led 53-47.
But Joplin’s Quin Renfro quickly made a three-pointer with 43 seconds remaining, pulling Joplin within three. On the ensuing in-bounds play, Brenley Hagewood was called for stepping on the sideline when his foot slipped on a wet spot on the floor, giving the ball back to Joplin. After Joplin’s All Wright missed a three-point attempt, Republic got the rebound but lost the ball out of bounds after a physical fight for possession. Renfro capitalized with another three-pointer to tie the game with 29 seconds left.
Gunner Ellison made two clutch free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining in regulation, giving Republic a 55-53 lead, but Joplin responded again. Wright missed another three-point attempt, but with less than a second remaining, Fred Taylor grabbed the ball and tossed it into the basket as he fell away. That set up the teams in overtime.
Despite the Joplin comeback, Brown said he felt his team played good defense down the stretch.
“We had a… lead there late, and it wasn’t that we did anything wrong, they just made some unbelievable shots. If those are the kind of shots that a team has to have to beat us, then I like our chances, because those weren’t normal shots that happened throughout the flow of the game.”
Republic got a defensive stop to start the overtime and scored first, and the teams went back and forth, with Joplin taking a 60-59 lead. But with 25 seconds remaining, Rexroat skied for a rebound off a missed shot by Hagewood. He got two defenders into the air, laid the ball in off the glass and drew a foul. When he made the free throw, the Tigers led 62-60, and they never trailed again.
Brown said his team responded well to the disappointment at the end of the fourth quarter.
“To be able to handle going to overtime after having a lead shows a lot of toughness for our guys. We made a couple loose ball plays on the defensive end there late. And I think that’s the DNA of our program, and it’s kind of neat to see us win with a couple loose balls, and then step up to the foul line and make free throws.”
Republic made six of seven free throws in the overtime period to seal the win.
Hagewood and Askew combined for 40 points to lead Republic. The Tigers are now 14-1 overall and 2-0 in the Central Ozark Conference. They’ll play a home game against Sedalia Smith-Cotton next Tuesday.
Score by Quarters
Joplin 16 12 10 17 – 8 – 63
Republic 13 24 16 15 – 10 – 65
Individual Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 21, Ahlante Askew 19, James Rexroat 9, Khamari Edwards 8, Jordan Douglas 4, Gunner Ellison 2