Tigers split final games heading into district basketball play

The Republic boys basketball team split its last two games of the regular season, losing at Willard before bouncing back with a Senior Night win against Carl Junction.
Willard 70,
Republic 56
Tuesday night, Willard made nine three-pointers in the first half and ran away from Republic for a 70–56 win. Trailing 6–4 early in the frist quarter, Willard used a 13–1 run to take the lead and never trailed again.
Republic briefly closed to within four points in the second quarter, but Willard went on another run to get the lead into double digits, and Republic never got closer than eight points the rest of the way. Republic trailed 39–25 at halftime, and eventually fell behind by as many as 21 points.
Brenley Hagewood scored 20 points and Jordan Douglas added 15, on five three-pointers, to lead Republic.
Republic 60,
Willard 43
Before Republic’s regular-season finale, the Tigers honored seniors Jordan Douglas, Aslan Ebisch, Owen Fry, and James Rexroat. All four seniors started, helping the Tigers close out their regular season with a 60–43 victory over Carl Junction.
After a slow start, Republic began to pull away late in the second quarter. Leading 17–16, the Tigers went on a 16–2 run that stretched into the third quarter. Republic increased its lead to 47–29 by the end of the third quarter and Carl Junction never seriously challenged the Tigers from that point on. In the second and third quarters, Republic outscored Carl Junction 40–21.
Before the game, Republic honored seniors Douglas, Ebisch, Fry, and Rexroat. Coach Tim Brown said he values their contributions beyond what they bring to the team during games.
“They’re all just really good kids. Not only good athletes, but they’re leaders in our school, leaders in the classroom, high academic kids,” said coach Tim Brown. “They’re just a pleasure to be around every single day, and when you have kids like that, it makes it a lot of fun to go to work every day.”
Junior Brenley Hagewood led the Tigers with 25 points, and all four seniors scored: Douglas scored 12, Ebisch scoerd eight, Fry added two, and Rexroat scored one.
The win wrapped Republic’s season with a 15–11 record. The Tigers finished 5–4 in the COC.