Republic held Springfield Catholic scoreless for more than seven minutes in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and win 59-44 in the Blue and Gold quarterfinals Wednesday. The Irish had cut a 14-point lead to four with a couple of buckets early in the fourth quarter. But after a layup by Rian Mulherin with 7:25 left in the game cut Republic’s lead to 48-44, Catholic never scored again.
In the first half, senior Jordan Douglas led a shooting display for the Tigers, firing in four three-pointers. In all, the Tigers had seven treys before halftime to build a 25-18 lead.
With both CJ Uhl and James Rexroat in foul trouble in the third quarter, though, Catholic climbed back into the game. The Irish outscored Republic 23-21 in the third quarter and had the lead down to four before Republic made defensive adjustments that led to a shutout over the final seven-plus minutes.
While the defense tightened up, Brenley Hagewood heated up for the Tigers. The senior scored 15 points in the second half, six in the fourth quarter. Aslan Ebisch added 10 points in the second half for Republic.
The win is Republic’s fifth in a row and improves their record to 7-3 overall. The Tigers advance to the semifinals of the Blue Division tomorrow at 8:30 at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Score by Quarters
Catholic 7 11 23 3 – 44
Republic 16 9 21 13 – 59
Individual Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 18, Aslan Ebisch 15, Jordan Douglas 12, James Rexroat 6, Davin Parks 5, Cason Bekemeier 3