The last time Republic faced Glendale, it ended with a foul at the buzzer and three free throws that handed the Falcons a one-point win in the Blue & Gold Tournament third-place game. The Tigers hadn’t forgotten.
“We had a different edge coming out tonight,” Keiran Govan said. “We came out, and I feel we were the more physical team. We got more loose balls. In the Blue and Gold, they got a lot of loose balls on us, and that’s really what killed us.”
Republic made sure the rematch wouldn’t come down to a final-second call, racing to a 7-0 lead behind back-to-back threes from Brody Blades and never trailing. The sophomore guard hit four first-quarter threes, staking Republic to an early cushion that Glendale spent the rest of the night trying to erase.
The Falcons got within 14-10 on a Jacan Seats three, but Blades answered with another three, and Slater Howard closed the quarter with a layup and a free throw to put Republic ahead 20-14.
AJ Uhl opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, and Republic pushed the lead to nine. Glendale chipped it to five at 25-20, but Howard answered with a three and Blades hit yet another — his fifth of the game — to give Republic a 31-21 lead. Govan scored on a layup at the buzzer after Blades stole a pass and pushed it ahead, sending Republic into halftime up 33-21 — its biggest lead to that point.
Govan scored again to open the third quarter, extending the margin to 14. That’s when Glendale made its move. Joelle Rover, who led all scorers with 19 points, sparked a 13-3 Falcon run. Rover scored eight of his points in the quarter, and MarKel Houston added a bucket as Glendale cut the deficit to 35-28 and forced a Republic timeout. Uhl steadied things with a basket and a free throw, and Trenten Coleman and Braxton Lundberg added buckets, but Glendale stayed within striking distance. The Falcons trailed 42-34 heading into the fourth.
Glendale kept coming. Seats and Rover scored to open the final period, pulling the Falcons within four at 42-38 and prompting another Republic timeout. Govan answered with a pair of free throws, but Sylijah Davis scored three straight points to make it 44-41. Govan and Uhl each scored to push it back to 48-41, and after a Houston basket and another Govan score, it was 50-43.
Glendale still wouldn’t go away. Rover scored four of the Falcons’ final six points as they pulled within 52-49 with under a minute left, forcing another Republic timeout. Blades converted a pair of free throws on two trips to the line, and Uhl added two more to ice it at 56-49.
“I really try not to let the physicality get to me,” Uhl said. “When I know they’re not calling very many fouls … I know I can be more physical on defense, and on offense, I have to make smarter plays, and I feel like we handled that well tonight.”
It was a physical game from start to finish. Republic shot 7-of-15 from three-point range (47 percent), led by Blades’s five threes. The Tigers shot 49 percent from the field overall. Glendale countered with an efficient night inside, hitting 16-of-21 two-point field goals (76 percent), but made just 3-of-16 from behind the arc.
Houston finished with eight points but fouled out in the fourth quarter, the only player on either side to pick up five fouls.
The win was Republic’s fourth straight. Govan said the recent streak has coincided with players settling into defined roles — including Howard, who spent most of the season on JV before moving to the varsity rotation.
“We were really trying to find ourselves those first 10 games, and I think everybody’s found their role, and we’re playing them very well right now,” Govan said.
Score by Quarters
Glendale 14-7-13-15 — 49
Republic 20-13-9-14 — 56
Republic Scoring
Brody Blades 17 (5 3PT), AJ Uhl 14, Keiran Govan 11, Slater Howard 6, Trenten Coleman 4, Braxton Lundberg 4
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