Republic Tigers win two to start COC action in perfect week

Republic allowed the first five points of the game at Neosho, but that was about the low point of the week for the Tigers. Republic stormed back to beat Neosho, then followed it up with a blowout win at Carl Junction to begin the Central Ozark Conference slate with a per- fect week.
At Neosho, Drew McMillin scored 31 points, including five three-pointers, to lift the Tigers over the Wildcats. After Neosho’s 5-0 start, Republic responded with a 14-2 run to take control. In the second quarter, McMil- lin scored 12 points as the Tigers took a 31-23 lead into the break. It was the second straight game that McMillin had 19 points in the first half. But even with his long-range shooting, McMillin’s most effective move of the night was his dribble penetration against the Neosho defense.
“Whenever I start making outside shots, they start to close out on me hard, so that opens up the lane a little bit more,” McMillin said.
Republic scoring: Drew McMillin 31, Joe Rexroat 13, Race Looney 8, Ahlante Askew 5, Will Berry 3, Tucker Thomas 1
—
At Carl Junction, nine different players scored for Republic in a 62-35 win. The Tigers scored the first seven points of the game and led 18-9 after the first quarter,
finishing the half with a 31- 16 advantage.
“It’s another good start for us on the road. I didn’t know if we’d come out flat – it’s a really long trip – and we came out ready to go,” said coach Tim Brown.
Even more than the Tigers’ fast start, Brown was impressed with the way his team emerged from the locker room at halftime. Republic scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to put the game away.
“I’m probably just as proud of our edge that we kept in the second half,” he said. “We had a really good start to the second half, and really kind of kept getting better as the half went on, and we never let up, which is human nature sometimes. You get a lead and you lose your edge and you start scoreboard watching. I felt like we continued to get better.”
Republic held Carl Junction to just five points in the
third quarter. Joe Rexroat led Republic
with 16 points and Drew McMillin added 15. Tucker Thomas was also in double figures with 10. Republic improves to 10-4. The Tigers have won five in a row and seven of their last eight.
Republic scoring: Joe Rexroat 16, Drew McMillin 15, Tucker Thomas 10, Skyler Lock 5, Ahlante Askew 4, Will Berry 4, Carson Neff 3, Nate Woolford 3, Race Looney 2