By Nolan Epstein
Republic, MO – Ozark and Republic take care of its respective opponents on Friday night to advance to the 2016 Republic Invitational final on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Rackley’s big night equates to impressive win over Belton
Republic’s Treydon Rackley bagged a game-high 28 points and converted nine of his ten foul shots to lead the Tigers (1-1) to a 61-49 semifinal victory over the Belton Pirates (1-1).
After putting up a mere 11 points in the tournament opener against Oak Park on Monday, Rackley fine-tuned his offensive play this time around as the senior seemingly couldn’t miss from wherever he decided to fire up a shot.
And according to Rackley, it was only a matter of time before he had his breakout performance.
“With my shooting not as good as I was hoping for on Monday, I just got in the gym and I shot and shot,” Rackley said following the win. “Coming in before the game, I had a good warmup. I was comfortable out there tonight.”
11 of his 28 total points came in a high-scoring second period for the Tigers – one that saw Republic outscore Belton 18-10 and create a 14-point advantage for Trevyor Fisher’s club at the half.
“I was pleased with our effort in the first half,” said Fisher. “Both defensively and offensively, I thought we executed and did what we were supposed to do.”
The 30-16 halftime lead would be the high-water mark for Republic, however, as the pesky Pirates started to slowly trim the deficit down over the final 16 minutes.
After holding a 12-point advantage with two minutes to play in the third, Belton used a 15-7 run, capped by a pair of free-throws by senior Joe Lind to cut the Republic lead to 49-45 halfway through the final quarter.
Fortunately for Fisher and the Tigers, Belton ran short on late-game magic as the Tigers finished the game on a 12-4 run of their own to close the book.
“[Belton] cut it to four, but it was a good job by our guys to keep their composure and withstand that,” Fisher said.
Ty Stevens finished second in scoring for the Tigers on the night with 10 points.
Box Score
Belton – 6 10 20 13 – 49
Republic – 12 18 14 17 – 61
Belton – TJ Brown 15, Jaden Clark 13, Tyrel White 8, Kortni Kaith 6, Joe Lind 4, Lonnie Harrell 1
Republic – Treydon Rackley 28, Ty Stevens 10, Broc Smith 7, Cameron Doke 4, Caleb Singley 4, Devon Ward 4, Mitch Coiner 3
Following strong start, Ozark fends off late Rogersville rally
When these two teams get together, it’s almost a sure bet that drama will be plentiful as the game draws toward a conclusion.
Sure enough, everything was right on cue on Friday as the Ozark Tigers (2-0) pulled out a 63-59 thriller – surviving a late Rogersville (3-1) comeback in the final minute.
Ozark all but had the contest wrapped up with one minute to play – holding a 59-51 lead after a Noah Suiter free-throw. But the Wildcats, perhaps channeling their inner Texas A&M from not-so-distant NCAA Tournament past, constructed a swift 8-2 run in a matter of just over 30 seconds to cut the lead to two before ultimately falling short.
“I want to give credit to Rogersville and their kids,” Ozark head coach Mark Schweitzer said. “I thought they absolutely competed their tails off and our kids competed as well. It was just a great Ozark-Rogersville basketball game.”
The strong finish by Rogersville was a far cry from how it began the festivities on Friday as Ozark feasted on the Wildcats early to grab a commanding 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Although his squad started figuring things out in the second period and ultimately pulled to within a pair at 33-31 at the half, first-year head coach Mitch McHenry was sorely disappointed in the Wildcats’ overall play through the first 16 minutes.
“Our preparation before the game was not very good and we kind of got what we deserved when Ozark put it to us in the first half,” McHenry noted. “We battled, but when you’re playing a really good team like that, you can’t get behind like we did in the first half and still be successful.”
Ozark’s early domination on the scoreboard was fueled by junior Parker Hanks, who put up 21 points in the win. Tabbed as the Tigers’ go-to scorer at the JV level a year ago, Hanks has done everything that his coach could have asked for as a first-year varsity starter.
“In his development, we kind of went slow with him,” Schweitzer said of Hanks. “We gave him different roles his freshman year and then a different role his sophomore year in terms of having to shoulder the load. This year, we told him that we expect him to be one of our main producers. He’s doing that early right now.”
In the tough loss, Andrew Scott, another junior, led the way for Rogersville with 22 points, including four 3-balls.
“[Scott] has been our most consistent worker and that has turned into success in games,” said McHenry. “His work ethic is really, really good. He wants to be great and he’s getting rewarded for that.”
Rogersville plays Belton in the third-place game on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Rogersville – 8 23 12 17 – 59
Ozark – 21 12 15 15 – 63
Rogersville – Andrew Scott 22, Luke Vandersnick 17, Ryker Strong 7, Drew Ritter 3, Jarrett Stiles 3, Matt McHenry 2, Hunner Johnson 2
Ozark – Parker Hanks 21, Quinn Nelson 13, Will Pickering 10, Carter Burgess 7, Payton Nichols 6, Noah Suiter 3, Garrett Reinke 2
