Republic Tigers take home the title in annual Bolivar tourney

Republic (18-1) brought home more hardware and extended its winning streak to 17 at the Liberator Tournament in Bolivar this weekend.
First-seeded Republic opened up tournament play with a win over eighth-seeded West Plains (7-10) in a rematch of their season opener, 62-50. It took some time to knock off the rust after a nine day hiatus, as Republic struggled early. Republic missed several open shots and West Plains led 12-11 after the first quarter. But the Tigers reeled off 14 straight points in the final minutes of the first quarter into the opening minutes of the second to take a 19-12 lead. The Tigers never trailed again. They took a 25-20 lead into halftime and extended their lead to 10 after the third, 47-37. In the final quarter, Republic outscored West Plains 15-13 and moved onto the semifinals with a 12-point win. Brenley Hagewood scored 15 and Ahlante Askew had 12 to lead Republic.
Before Friday’s semifinal between Republic and Helias, the schools had faced each other nine times, with the all-time record being 5-4 in Republic's favor. Neither team had ever beaten the other twice in a row, but that pattern ended with a Tiger win, 61-49. Republic sprinted out in the first half and carried a 19-point lead into halftime, 34-15. Helias fought back and eventually cut the lead to eight at one point in the fourth quarter, but Republic made enough free throws in the final minutes to propel them to a championship berth. Brenley Hagewood, 19, and Ahlante Askew, 17, led the Tigers in scoring.
Saturday, Republic met Thayer exactly one year to the day after the Bobcats beat the Tigers in the in the tournament semifinals. Republic defeated Thayer this time around, 65-57, and brought home a second tournament title of the season.
The Tigers built two big leads during the game and fought off two rallies by the Bobcats to put the game away. Republic dominated the early minutes, leading 13-2, but Thayer scored 13 straight to take a 15-13 lead early in the second quarter.  Jordan Douglas’ buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the second quarter gave Republic a 25-22 advantage at halftime.
Republic continued its momentum into the third quarter and extended the lead to 10, 39-29, as the fourth quarter began. The lead grew to 14 when Brenley Hagewood hit a free throw line jumper with 3:30 remaining, but Thayer mounted its second rally of the game. The Bobcats went on a 14-4 run and shrunk the lead to two with 43.8 seconds remaining, but that’s as close as they would get. Republic made its free throws down the stretch, with Ahlante Askew going 8–for-8 from the line, and held on for a win. Hagewood had 21 for the Tigers, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Khamari Edwards scored 14 and Askew had 12.