Republic unleashed two devastating scoring runs – 25 and 16 unanswered points – in a first-half defensive clinic that paved the way to a 74-21 demolition of Clever in Thursday’s Blue & Gold Tournament opener at Great Southern Bank Arena. Twelve different players scored for Republic, fueled by withering half-court defense that forced turnover after turnover, especially during the first half.
Keiran Govan took the lead, forcing multiple turnovers, then distributing the ball to a wide variety of teammates after the Tigers got rolling. Four different players scored in double figures for Republic, thanks to Govan’s court vision. Brenley Hagewood led the team with 14, despite resting after the game was in hand. CJ Uhl and Ryder Davis each had 12 points, and Davin Parks finished with 10.
“We’re getting better in some areas defensively. We’re being aggressive, and we’re doing a good job of helping and rotating,” said coach Tim Brown. “Tonight was a prime example of that.”
The defensive effort continued a trend for Republic, which held Blue Valley West to 38 points last week. The Tigers built a 45-11 halftime lead and coasted from there.
“We felt like the last two games we’ve guarded really well,” Brown said. “That says something about the growth that we’ve had. We’ve got to do it every day, and we’ve got to keep getting better, but definitely took a step in the right direction these last three games.”
The large lead allowed Brown to rest his starters for much of the second half as Republic rolls into Friday’s quarterfinals. The Tigers (7-0) will face West Plains at 12:30 pm.
“In a tournament like this, if you can steal minutes for guys, especially as many minutes as the majority of our guys that are in the rotation log, it was nice to be able to do that and rest them a little bit,” Brown said.
Score by Quarters
Clever: 9-2-6-4—21
Republic: 21-24-18-11—74
Clever Scoring
Lucas Peebles 5, Kendall Piper 4, Kalib Butts 4, Xavier Robinson 3, Landon Flood 2, Coleson Cupit 2, Brayden Flood 1
Republic Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 14, C.J. Uhl 12, Ryder Davis 12, Davin Parks 10,Brody Blades 8, Jin Villasica 5, A.J. Uhl 3, Owen George 2, Kaden Howard 2, Camden Dunn 3, Keiran Govan 2, Trenten Coleman 1
