Republic’s smothering defense suffocated Ozark Tuesday night, holding the Tigers to just 25 points in a 58-25 victory in the Class 6 District 5 tournament quarterfinals at Nixa High School.
The defensive effort was Republic’s most impressive in postseason play in more than a decade. It was the fewest points allowed by Republic in the playoffs since a 49-21 district-opening win over Reeds Spring in 2013 on the way to a state championship.
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Republic (3) held Ozark (6) to just eight points in the entire second half, including only three points in the fourth quarter. Ozark shot a dismal 2-for-19 from the floor after halftime.
“Anytime you can hold a team to 25 points, it says a lot about the character of your basketball team,” said coach Tim Brown. “I thought we were fantastic tonight on the defensive end, on the backboards. Everything we preach… It’s who we’ve been.”
The defensive performance was a complete team effort, Brown said, but it started with Brenley Hagewood and Keiran Govan on Ozark’s best two scorers.
“We said coming into it, they had two guys that could really score the ball, (Hudson Roberts and Kylan Pickeren). And we said, it’s going to take not just us winning our individual matchup, but everybody else who’s not guarding them doing their job,” Brown said. “Bren, I thought, guarded (Roberts) really well. KG guarded 33 really well. But I thought Dav (Parks) and Brody (Blades) were amazing in their gaps defensively.”
Republic’s offense was not as efficient as its defense, but it was plenty good enough. Brenley Hagewood scored 25 points, including four three-pointers. For the third consecutive game, Hagewood individually outscored the opposing team for a significant portion of the game. On Tuesday night, his 25 points matched Ozark’s entire team total.
CJ Uhl and Davin Parks each added 16 points.
Republic’s offense took control early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead and extending it to 18-5 by the end of the first quarter. The margin was 30-17 at halftime, and Republic stretched it to 42-22 after three quarters.
Hudson Roberts led Ozark with six points. No other Ozark player scored more than four.
It was Republic’s second win over Ozark this season. In the two games combined, Republic held Ozark to just 65 total points.
Republic advances to face second-seeded Kickapoo in the district semifinals Friday.
Score by Quarters
Ozark Tigers 5-12-5-3-25
Republic 18-12-12-16-58
Ozark Tigers Scoring
Hudson Roberts 6, Jacob Harmon 4, Jack Berryman 4, Kylan Pickeren 4, Jaxon Dublin 3, Hendrix Haymes 3, Cohen George 1
Republic Tigers Scoring
Brenley Hagewood 25, CJ Uhl 16, Davin Parks 16, Keiran Govan 1
