Republic allowed 16 points in the first quarter, then just 16 points the rest of the night, cruising to a 50-point win on the road at Neosho, 82-32.
Leading 19-16 after one period, the Tigers held Neosho scoreless for nearly seven minutes to open the second quarter. Republic scored 20 straight points, opening a 39-16 lead before Neosho got back on the scoreboard. At halftime, it was 43-21.
From the start, Republic made an effort to get the ball to Brenley Hagewood, its leading scorer. But his teammates found Hagewood in the paint, not on the perimeter, feeding him the ball as he cut to the basket for close-range shots. Hagewood had nine points in the first quarter and 14 by halftime, on the way to a game-high 22.
CJ Uhl came off the bench to have one of his best all-around games of the season, as well. Uhl scored 10 of his 13 points in the second quarter to fuel Republic’s dominant eight-minute run.
By the time the game ended, 10 different players had scored for Republic. Aslan Ebisch joined Hagewood and Uhl in double figures. He scored 10 points. Ryder Davis finished with a career-high nine, knocking down three treys in the second half. Owen George also dropped in a three during the final minutes for his first career varsity points.
Neosho falls to 6-18 overall and 0-7 in the Central Ozark Conference. Republic improves to 14-10 overall and 3-3 in the COC. The Tigers will return to action next Tuesday at Willard. It’s part of a boys and girls super night of basketball, and we will carry both varsity games live.
Score by Quarters
Neosho 16 5 6 5 – 32
Republic 19 24 23 16 – 82
Individual Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 22, CJ Uhl 13, Aslan Ebisch 10, Ryder Davis 9, James Rexroat 8, Jordan Douglas 6, Rylee Tan 5, Keiran Govan 4, Owen George 3, Davin Parks 2