Branson, deadlocked with Willard at 37 apiece in the third quarter, used an 11-0 run to emerge with a 58-49 win. The Pirates play Republic at 8:30 Friday night at Hammons Student Center in the Gold Division semifinals.
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“It was so sudden that I’m not sure what happened,” said Tigers coach Lamont Frazier. “We were trading baskets back and forth… they were just a quicker and better team tonight.”
Da’Quan Ervin led all scorers with 20 points and sparked the Pirates’ decisive run. He got two consecutive steals and layups to put Branson up 41-37.
“He doesn’t know how good he can be,” said Pirates coach Brian McTague. “I tell him that constantly. Tonight was an example of that, he affected each play on every end of the floor.”
Pirates senior Thatch Unruh capped the run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter with his second 3-pointer of the game to make it 48-37 Branson.
The Tigers never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The Tigers never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Willard junior Chris Kendrix had 19 points, 14 in the first half.
The Tigers trailed 19-12 after the first quarter, but were within one point at halftime. Kendrix had a thunderous alley-oop dunk from point guard Damon Wester in the second quarter.
With Unruh only scoring seven points, the Pirates got a boost from the active play of Chandler Hall (13 points) and Drew Russell (12 points) around the basket.
Branson 58, Willard 49
Willard 12 13 12 12 --- 49
Branson 19 7 19 9 --- 58
Willard – Chris Kendrix 19, Skyler Baker 10, Levi McGinnis 8, Damon Wester 7, Brent Hrebec 3, Montana Craig 2
Branson – Da’Quan Ervin 20, Chandler Hall 13, Drew Russell 12, Thatch Unruh 7, Isaiah Daniels 6
Republic 56, Hartville 40
Republic 15 10 20 11 --- 56
Hartville 11 6 13 10 --- 40
Republic – Cody Geiger 17, Marcus Miller 16, Jake Fletcher 15, Dylan Bekemeier 4, Ty Abney 2, Grant Hancock 2
Hartville – Seth Hensley 23, Shade Piper 12, Hunter Simmons 5
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