Republic held off a fourth-quarter rally by Mountain Grove to advance to the Blue & Gold Tournament semifinals on Saturday, defeating the Panthers 60-54 at Great Southern Bank Arena.
The Tigers led by as many as 11 points in the first half but saw that advantage disappear in the final period. Mountain Grove tied the game three times in the fourth quarter, but each time Republic answered immediately.
After Eli Golden made two free throws to tie the score 45-45, AJ Uhl made a one-handed jump shot in the lane to put Republic back on top. Kale Gardner tied it again for Mountain Grove, and Uhl dropped a dagger with a three-pointer from the right wing to make it 50-47.
The last time the Panthers tied it at 52-52 on a 3-pointer by Brady Emery, Brody Blades answered with a 3-pointer from the left wing to put Republic ahead 55-52. The Tigers got a stop on the defensive end, and Keiran Govan scored a layup in transition to push the lead to 57-52 with less than a minute remaining.
“AJ Uhl made some big, big, big plays for us. Brody made a shot. We made just enough stops,” said Republic coach Tim Brown. “We knew they were going to keep coming. It’s probably the best (Mountain Grove has) shot it… they shot it really well from a lot of different spots.”
Blades led all scorers with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, pacing the Tigers in scoring for the second time in the tournament. Trenten Coleman finished with a career-high 17 points, helping Republic build an early lead. The Tigers led 18-11 after the first quarter and 31-25 at halftime.
Republic extended its lead to 31-20 early in the second quarter, but Mountain Grove stayed within striking distance. The Panthers used a 7-0 run spanning halftime to cut the lead to four, and they trailed just 45-38 entering the fourth.
Mountain Grove opened the fourth quarter with seven straight points from Eli Golden to tie the game at 45 before Uhl and Blades helped put the game away.
“In this tournament, weird things can happen, and we’re glad that we were able to find a way to survive and advance,” Brown said.
Kale Gardner led Mountain Grove with 18 points. Golden and Aden Estep added 12 points each.
Republic improves to 6-1. The Tigers will face Willard in the Blue Division semifinals Monday at 8:30 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena.
Score by Quarters
Mountain Grove 11 14 13 16 – 54
Republic 18 13 14 15 – 60
Individual Scoring
Brody Blades 21, Trenten Coleman 17, AJ Uhl 9, Keiran Govan 8, Jin Villasica 3, Chase Connell 2.
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