Four games. Four wins. One championship trophy.
The Republic boys basketball team claimed its second Blue & Gold Tournament title in three years with a dominant run through the annual event at Great Southern Bank Arena. The Tigers outscored their opponents by an average of 26 points per game, culminating in a 64-49 victory over Bolivar in Monday night’s championship game.
Republic opened the tournament with a 74-21 dismantling of Clever, with 12 different players scoring and the defense forcing turnovers that fueled two devastating runs of 25 and 16 unanswered points.
The Tigers’ quarterfinal matchup against West Plains proved to be their biggest test. After surviving a potential game-winning free throw at the end of regulation, Republic prevailed 54-53 in overtime, with Keiran Govan’s free throw in the final seconds providing the winning margin.
In Saturday’s semifinal, Republic crushed Willard 68-33, holding their opponent to single digits in three different quarters while shooting lights out from three-point range. The Tigers hit their first four three-point attempts and never looked back.
In the title tilt, sophomore Brody Blades knocked down six three-pointers and senior Brenley Hagewood threw down two thunderous dunks en route to a combined 41 points, securing Republic’s eighth Blue & Gold title.
Hagewood, who finished the tournament with 81 points, moved into eighth place on the all-time Blue & Gold scoring list with 240 career points in the tournament.
The championship run improved Republic’s record to 10-0, marking their best start since 2020 and matching the program’s third-best start ever. Their suffocating defense and balanced offense made this four-game sweep our Performance of the Week.
