Willard scored 57 points in beating Republic in the Blue & Gold Tournament semifinals two months ago. Tuesday night, Republic held them to 33.
That 24-point swing told the story of Republic’s 47-33 win in Willard, a rematch that Republic dominated defensively from the beginning.
Trenten Coleman led the offense with 14 points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor. Ten of those points came in the fourth quarter, when Republic turned a seven-point edge into a 47-30 lead. Brody Blades added 12 and Keiran Govan had 10.
Neither team had a lot of offensive success for the first three quarters. Republic led 10-8 after one quarter and 19-15 at halftime. Willard cut the lead to two on a Jude Wallace three-pointer to make it 28-26 late in the third, but Coleman answered with a three, and Republic closed the period up 33-28. Republic outscored Willard 14-5 in the fourth, finishing the game on a 7-0 run.
“I was really proud of the way our guys came in on the road tonight and competed,” coach Tim Brown said. “It was as good of a defensive effort as we’ve had all year. We did a tremendous job with our rotations and switches, and we finished possessions by rebounding and coming up with loose balls. I thought we were completely connected as a group in every aspect of the game tonight.”
Republic shot 59% from inside the two-point arc and 44% overall. Willard made just 32% of its shots, going 4-of-22 from 3-point range.
The win pushes Republic’s record to 17-8. The Tigers have won four of their last five and 10 of their last 13. They host Parkview on Friday. A win in that game could give them a share of the Central Ozark Conference West title.
Score by Quarters
Willard 8 7 13 5 — 33
Republic 10 9 14 14 — 47
Republic Scoring
Trenten Coleman 14, Brody Blades 12, Keiran Govan 10, Slater Howard 6, AJ Uhl 5
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