C.J. Uhl dominated the paint with a career-high 20 points, powering Republic to a 63-48 win over Waynesville Friday and continuing one of the best starts in program history. The Tigers moved to 11-0, the third-best opening streak ever for Republic basketball.
Republic stormed to a 17-2 lead late in the first quarter, using its size advantage inside with Uhl to control the game early. The Tigers led 28-18 at halftime and blew the game open with a 22-point third quarter to lead 50-27. Waynesville outscored Republic 21-13 in the fourth quarter after the outcome was decided.
“CJ did a nice job. He’s earned the right to get more touches, and I thought our kids did a good job of finding him,” coach Tim Brown said. “It’s good to see him score the basketball at such a high rate.”
Brenley Hagewood continued his strong play with 13 points, which was coming off an emotional Blue & Gold Tournament championship earlier in the week.
Brown said that tournament hangover showed at times.
“We had a great start, and then I feel like we didn’t do a great job of sustaining and continuing to do things the right way,” Brown said. “We gave up too many little 5-0, 6-0 runs because we were disorganized, or we didn’t shoot expected shots, or we didn’t get matched up.”
Only two Republic teams have started better – the 1992-93 squad that opened 18-0 and the 1961-62 team that won its first 12 games. The Tigers will try to match that 12-0 mark when they host Ozark Tuesday.
The victory came as part of a six-game night that included freshman, JV, and varsity games for both the boys and girls programs. Republic swept all six games.
Score by Quarters
Waynesville 5-13-9-21-48
Republic 17-11-22-13-63
Waynesville Scoring
Brandon Jackson 17, Jerome Shelton 8, Omar Gonzales 7, Codye Black 7, Jaiden Reynolds 5, Demarion Gardner 4
Republic Scoring
C.J. Uhl 20, Brenley Hagewood 13, Ryder Davis 9, Brody Blades 6, Davin Parks 6, Keiran Govan 5, Kaden Howard 2, Owen George 2
