Keiran Govan hit a free throw with 11 seconds left in overtime, lifting Republic to a 54-53 victory over West Plains Thursday in the Blue & Gold Tournament quarterfinals.
The Tigers survived a wild finish in regulation when West Plains’ Josiah Long missed a potential game-winning free throw with 0.3 seconds remaining. Long had made his first attempt to tie the game before a Republic timeout, but his second shot fell short, forcing overtime.
West Plains jumped ahead quickly in the extra period when Long drilled a three-pointer to make it 49-46. But Republic answered with two free throws by Davin Parks to pull within one. After an Aden Judd layup pushed West Plains’ lead to 51-48, Republic took control.
Brenley Hagewood tied the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key. After a West Plains turnover, Hagewood drove the left side of the lane and scored on a finger roll to give Republic a 53-51 lead with 2:07 remaining.
West Plains tied the score before Govan’s game-winning free throw. The Zizzers’ final three-point attempt missed and Republic’s Brody Blades secured the rebound to preserve its eighth straight win.
“We got it to the four-minute mark, and we said it’s winning time. Everything good or bad that has happened already, it’s over with, and we’ve got to be really good the last four minutes,” said coach Tim Brown. “I thought our best eight minutes tonight were the last eight minutes of the game.”
West Plains had built its lead with a strong second quarter, outscoring Republic 19-8. The Zizzers led by as many as eight points before Republic began chipping away.
“West Plains had a great plan. Their guards executed it really well by taking care of it and running clock and spreading us out and attacking, and they made timely shots,” Brown said. “They played great, and I was really proud of how we played.”
Hagewood led Republic with 24 points. Govan finished with 10. Jared Kraft led West Plains with 16 points, while Clayton Robbins and Long scored 15 apiece.
Brown credited his team’s experience in close games for helping them pull out the victory.
“We’re comfortable grinding, and I feel like those close games that we play helped with the poise that we had down the stretch,” he said. “To do what we did and make some timely shots in a grinded-out game, not a lot of teams can do that.”
Republic improves to 8-0 and advances to Saturday’s semifinal round in the Gold Division.
Score by Quarters
West Plains 12-19-4-11-7–53
Republic 15-8-9-14-8–54
West Plains Scoring
Jared Kraft 16, Clayton Robbins 15, Josiah Long 15, Ethan Tuma 5, Aden Judd 2
Republic Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 24, Keiran Govan 10, Ryder Davis 6, Brody Blades 6, C.J. Uhl 4, Davin Parks 2, Kaden Howard 2
