Brenley Hagewood bombed, bounced, and breezed his way through the Hillcrest defense Tuesday night, piling up 37 points in Republic’s 68-53 road win. His scoring spree was the highest total by a Tiger in more than three years, falling just two points shy of Drew McMillin’s 39-point performance against Joplin in February 2021.
The senior guard saved his best for the biggest moments. With Republic trailing 14-8 late in the first quarter, Hagewood helped spark a 15-0 run that turned the game on its head. He poured in 15 points in the second quarter alone as Republic outscored Hillcrest 21-6 to build a 32-20 halftime lead.
“I just knew I needed to attack them,” Hagewood said. “I knew that if I kept attacking… them, I knew that I could possibly get fouls, get my teammates open. Things just happen if I’m attacking.”
Hagewood’s buckets came from everywhere – drives, jumpers, and free throws – and he credited Republic’s offensive sets for creating scoring chances. He finished with five three-pointers.
“It kind of just depends on how they’re guarding me,” he said. “If they’re doubling, that means CJ (Uhl)’s guy’s coming to help, and he’s got an open roll. If you can get it to him, they’re going to have to crash. You get that out to Brody, Ryder, whoever. That’s a good look.”
The Tigers stretched their lead to 18 points at 40-22 early in the third quarter. When Hillcrest mounted a fourth-quarter comeback, cutting the lead to 58-49, Hagewood helped slam the door with 11 points in the final frame.
Keiran Govan added seven points for Republic. Ryder Davis and C.J. Uhl scored five apiece, while Trenten Coleman, Kaden Howard, and Davin Parks each had four. Brody Blades added two.
Kyrese Simpson led Hillcrest with 27 points. Levi Romero scored nine and James Collins had eight for the Hornets.
The victory pushed Republic to 5-0, a perfect start that doesn’t surprise Hagewood.
“I thought that this group would be really good, and we’re hoping to build. This ain’t it,” he said. “This definitely is not it. We want to get better and better each day, each practice to get better.”
The Tigers head to Kansas Friday, facing Blue Valley West in Overland Park at 6:00 p.m.
