Republic took advantage of its size and strength to pull away from a young Buffalo team in the opening round of the Blue & Gold Tournament at Hammons Student Center Tuesday, winning 71-51. James Rexroat dominated the middle, scoring 17 points and pulling down a bevy of rebounds to lead the Tigers. Davin Parks and CJ Uhl, Republic’s two other forwards, scored 10 and nine points respectively.
Republic, seeded second in the Blue Division, got off to a slow start and never seemed to get in sync all night, despite the lopsided final score. Turnovers on offense and lapses on the defensive end helped Buffalo stay close early. The teams were officially tied 15-15 at the end of the first quarter. (See footnote below.)*
Republic’s defense picked up in the second quarter and the Tigers improved at the offensive end of the floor, as well, outscoring the Bison 19-6 to take a 34-21 lead into halftime.
Brenley Hagewood scored 13 of his points in the second half to help the Tigers pull away and advance to the winner’s bracket quarterfinals. Republic will play Springfield Catholic, seeded seventh, at 8:00 pm Wednesday.
Score by Quarters
Buffalo 15 6 17 13 – 51
Republic 15 19 20 20 – 71
Individual Scoring
James Rexroat 17, Brenley Hagewood 13*, Davin Parks 10, Jordan Douglas 10, Aslan Ebisch 9, CJ Uhl 8, Rylee Tan 4
* One of Hagewood’s field goals was credited to Buffalo during the first half, so his official total was 13 points, although he scored 15.
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