The Branson Pirates claimed the COC Large title with a 52-43 win over the Republic Tigers on Tuesday night. In front of a loud crowd and with it being senior night, it was only fitting that Branson was led to the championship by its four seniors.
“It feels pretty good,” said Branson coach Kirk Hanson. “Very proud of the guys, how they meshed together. Everybody played their roles and to win like this is very gratifying for the team. It’s hard playing without Montana because his experience is a presence in the middle. I don’t think anyone on the team is that flashy but yet we all play our roles, we all do our jobs. It was a little nerve-wracking with Montana on the bench next to me. He can’t rebound; he can’t defend over there next to me. Brandt Morrow did a great job, Seth Wood moved to the middle of our zone, did a great job on the boards. Colby has been the glue, he’s probably our most valuable player from the standpoint of his leadership. It’s comforting to know that we can just get the ball to Colby.
Throughout the first quarter, Branson held a distinct advantage in the rebounding and defensively they held Republic’s offense to just nine points. Trouble occurred for the Pirates when senior Montana Myer picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and was forced to sit the rest of the half. Without the 6’5” Myer under the goal, Republic started to win the battle in the paint. The Tigers also switched to a zone defense which held the Pirates scoreless for almost 4 minutes in the second quarter. The Tigers finished the first half on a 7-0 run, erasing and 11-point deficit to be down at the half 28-24.
In the second half, Republic continued to switch their defenses from a 1-3-1 to a 2-3 back to a man. Branson recognized the changes and slowed the ball down. Branson played the entire third quarter with Myer sitting on the bench. Republic had open shots that did not fall and Branson continued to control the tempo.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, with Branson leading 37-31 early, that Republic mounted a comeback. The Tigers scored seven straight points to take their only lead of the half, 38-37, but led by senior Colby Sutton the Pirates held their composure and handled the Republic pressure. Sutton went 4-4 from the free throw line down the stretch and controlled the offense for the Pirates.
“We had to keep our focus,” said Sutton. “We’d been playing a good game so far; we just had to keep playing hard. We couldn’t let down our guard and let them get a bigger lead. Tonight was a crazy atmosphere. You could tell all the fans were in it, with the COC championship on the line. It was a team effort, everyone did their part, we all knew our roles, and we went out there and performed. I can’t explain how it feels to be COC champs, it’s amazing.”
Tristan Ollar (17) and Mitchell Coiner (12) combined for 20 points to lead Republic.
“I thought our guys competed and gave good effort; had to get back into the game after getting a deficit in the first half,” said Republic coach Trevyor Fisher. “I have to give Branson credit, they made the plays down the stretch to win the game and we just weren’t able to get over that hump. We were looking; our man defense wasn’t very good to start the game so we just tried to mix it up a little bit. It got us back a couple steals but they hit some shots down the stretch that were able to win the game for them.”
“I am very emotional out there but I’ve got a great team leader and Colby always keeps me in check,” said Branson senior Christian Powell. “We stuck to what we know how to do which was, on our defense we got our hands up and made them work and our offense we were just patient with it, making sure we weren’t turning the ball over. By the time that was all over with, the clock ran out.”
Republic 9 15 7 12 -43
Branson 11 17 9 15 -52
Republic—Tristan Ollar-17, Mitchell Coiner-12, Treydon Rackley-11, Ty Stevens-2, Cameron Doke-1
Branson—Nick Dapprich-17, Christian Powell-13, Seth Wood-7, Colby Sutton-7, Montana Myer-6, Brandt Morrow-2
