Republic (16-4, 2-0 COC) made up what they lacked in size with grit, determination and one of the finest second-half defensive efforts of the season in its 49-42 triumph over COC adversary Webb City (14-5, 1-1 COC) on Friday.
Trailing by a score of 27-25 at halftime and having to further contend with the immense presence of 6-foot-8 forward Preston Ellis, the Tigers yielded only 15 points the rest of the way – including just four points in the game's third quarter.
The magic formula for such an improvement? According to Republic head coach Trevyor Fisher, it was about nothing more than making sure there were no clear lanes for any of Webb City's post players to utilize inside.
“We didn't make a whole lot of adjustments, we just made a conscious effort to guard the penetration a little bit better,” Fisher said. “When they threw it into the big guys, we just wanted to keep our bodies in-between the man and the ball and make them score over the top of us.”
Ellis, who stands six inches higher than Republic's tallest starter, bagged a game-high 24 points on the night and was the only Webb City starter to record more than two points. However, he was only able to muster one field goal in the third quarter – signaling that the Cardinals' offensive efficiency was a far cry from where it had been during the first 16 minutes.
“We were getting the ball inside in the first half and getting the shots that we wanted,” Webb City coach Jeff Guiot said after the loss.
While Webb City's plan of attack was to clearly penetrate into the low post, Republic showed it wasn't afraid to fire from outside, especially junior guard Mitchell Coiner.
Tigers junior Treydon Rackley may have led the way in scoring with 17 points, but it was Coiner who drained four big 3-balls in the contest, including three in the first half – good for 12 of his 14 total points.
“He stretches the defense,” Fisher said of Coiner. “A lot of teams will try to pack it in on us and make us score from the perimeter, and he's the one guy that can step out there and knock a few down.”
Despite the win, Republic was held to its fifth-lowest point total of the year – making the Tigers' defensive outing all the more impressive.
“That's kind of been our point of emphasis all year,” Coiner said. “If our offense isn't going well, it's about being able to grind it out, get stops on defense and still find a way to win.”
For Webb City, it all comes down to putting together a complete game.
“Our consistency is something that we're working on,” Guiot added. “All high school teams kind of deal with that from game to game and situation to situation, but our consistency throughout the 32
minutes of a basketball game has to improve.”
Both teams now look ahead to Tuesday as Republic travels to Neosho, while Webb City hits the road to take on Willard.
Box Score
Webb City – 10 17 4 11 – 42
Republic – 11 14 14 10 – 49
Webb City – Preston Ellis 24, Zach Davidson 6, Trey Gibson 4, Tate Smith 2, Payton Guiot 2, Tyson Roderique 2, Kaden Roy 2
Republic – Treydon Rackley 17, Mitchell Coiner 14, Tristan Ollar 9, Ty Stevens 7, Cameron Doke 2
