Huge run pushes Republic past West Plains

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By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

It was a punch to the gut.

West Plains started Wednesday’s second round Blue and Gold Tournament matchup against Republic with a 10-2 spurt, seemingly building off of their first round upset of No. 5 Mansfield.

But Republic started scoring and the Zizzers couldn’t buy a bucket…

What looked like a quick Tiger spurt, grew to a 10-2 run.
Then 18-2.
Then 29-5
And finally 35-7 following a Broc Smith wing triple early in the fourth quarter, giving the Tigers a 37-17 advantage.

Stifling defense carried Republic into the Gold Bracket semifinals with a 53-40 win over West Plains.

“We constantly talk about keeping the ball out of the paint, making teams beat us with perimeter jump shots that are contested and limiting them to one shot,” said Republic coach Trevyor Fisher. “I feel like if you can keep the ball out of the paint away from the basket and make teams make tough shots from beyond 15-17 feet then your percentages will be good in terms of them not making shots.

“They hit a pair of 3s to start the game which isn’t something they typically do, but I knew if we could settle down, score, and relax our nerves that we would be fine defensively. We were also able to speed them up with our full-court pressure, which got them playing a little faster than they wanted to. That got us back to level and we were able to sit down and play our normal defense.”

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

That normal defense has been Fisher’s calling card in his time at Republic, which has led the Tigers to a pair of state championships.

RepMo has held six of its nine opponents to 50 points or fewer this season, including five of six during the Tigers current six-game winning streak.

But, Republic has also improved offensively, scoring at least 60 points in three of their last six games.

Broc Smith scored a game-high 18 points. Race Looney added 14 and Hunter Thomas chipped in nine. Having others step up in addition to Smith, who is averaging 20 points per game, has been imperative to the run.

“Balance is huge for us because teams are going to key on Broc and we have to have guys step up and make shots when they’re open and we’ve done that for the most part this year,” said Smith. “It always helps when guys are able to help with the scoring load and take some of that off of Broc.”

West Plains didn’t have a single player reach double figures. The Zizzers 40 points represents a season-low.

With the win, Republic sets up a semifinal with rival Ozark. The two COC rivals have split their last four meetings. Thursday’s semifinal could be the first of three matchups this season.

“Anytime you can make it to the semifinals of the Blue and Gold and give yourself an opportunity to make it to the championship it’s great,” said Fisher. “We know we have a tall test with Ozark; up and down they’re probably the most skilled and best all around team in the area. They can do multiple things on both ends and we’re going to try to go out there and compete, give it our best shot.”

Republic 53, West Plains 40
West Plains 12-2-10-16 – 40
Republic 13-9-19-12 – 53

West Plains – Swope 8, Marcak 7, Butler 6, Warren 6, Peterson 6, Randolph 5, McGinley 2.
Republic – Smith 18, Looney 14, Thomas 9, Creek 6, Buxton 3, McMillen 3.

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