Republic 54, Joplin 47
Slater Howard buried two first-quarter three-pointers as Republic jumped out to a 13-4 lead and the Tigers led most of the night in a 54-47 road win over Joplin in Central Ozark Conference West play Friday night.
“Our start set the tone tonight,” Republic coach Tim Brown said. “When they made their pushes, we didn’t panic.”
AJ Uhl led all scorers with 16 points and Keiran Govan added 14 for the Tigers, who improved to 15-7 and have won six of their last seven.
Joplin chipped away in the second quarter, pulling within two before Republic steadied itself and took a 23-15 lead into halftime. The Eagles matched the Tigers point-for-point in the third, with each team scoring 14, but it was Republic that carried the momentum into the fourth. Uhl blocked a shot, the ball went to Blades, and he fed Govan, who threw down a breakaway dunk just ahead of the buzzer.
Howard knocked down his third three-pointer of the night in the quarter to help the Tigers maintain distance.
Joplin made one final charge in the fourth, but Republic had answers. Trenton Coleman and Brody Blades combined to go 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the closing minutes to put it away. Blades finished with just four points, but each one came when it mattered most.
“Winning on the road takes toughness and composure, and I thought our guys showed both down the stretch,” Brown said.
Coleman and Howard each finished with nine points. Braxton Lundberg added two.
Republic travels to Kickapoo on Tuesday.
REPUBLIC (54): AJ Uhl 16, Keiran Govan 14, Trenten Coleman 9, Slater Howard 9, Brody Blades 4, Braxton Lundberg 2.
**Score by quarters**
| | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|—|—|—|—|—|—|
| Joplin | 4 | 11 | 14 | 18 | 47 |
| Republic | 13 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 54 |
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