Willard made a dozen three-pointers and slowed down Republic’s inside game to secure a 70-56 win in Willard Tuesday. Willard’s nine first-half treys led to a 39-25 lead at halftime, and Willard eventually led by as many as 21 points on the way to the victory.
The teams opened the game by exchanging baskets, and Republic briefly led 6-4 early in the first quarter. But a 13-1 run by Willard set the tone for the rest of the night, and by the end of the first period, the home team had a 20-12 advantage.
Republic cut the lead to four points briefly at the beginning of the second quarter, but another run by Willard stretched the margin to 13 points. Republic cut the gap to eight, but Willard ended the half with a pair of three-pointers and took a 39-25 lead into halftime.
Willard extended its advantage to 21 points late in the third quarter at 56-35. Republic scored 10 points in a row and went on a 14-2 run over the next few minutes to get back in the game, but Willard answered every challenge down the stretch to hold on for the victory.
Brenley Hagewood scored 20 points and Jordan Douglas added 15, on five three-pointers.
Willard improves to 16-9 overall and 5-3 in the Central Ozark Conference (COC). Republic falls to 14-11 (4-4).
Republic has one more game during the regular season. That’s Friday at home against Carl Junction. The Tigers will celebrate Senior Night, honoring Jordan Douglas, Owen Fry, James Rexroat, and Aslan Ebisch before the game.
Score by Quarters Willard 20 19 17 14 - 70 Republic 12 13 12 19 - 56
Individual Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 20, Jordan Douglas 15, James Rexroat 8, Davin Parks 4, Rylee Tan 3, Aslan Ebisch 2, CJ Uhl, Keiran Govan,