Feeling pressure to bring a second COC championship this winter to his family, Kael Combs responded with fourth-quarter heroics to lift Nixa past Republic 53-48 Tuesday.

Kael's younger brother, Jace, is a 5-foot-7 guard on the Nixa seventh-grade team that breezed to a 15-0 record and a COC Tournament title. The players were recognized for their efforts at halftime Tuesday.

"I went to a couple of their games. They play well together and when they need to, they get a big bucket," Kael said. "(Jace) has bragging rights right now since they won a COC (title). So, we've got to get one to even it out." 

The Eagles (18-6 overall and 6-1 in the COC) kept their destiny, in regard to a COC championship, in their own hands, thanks to an improbable finish. With the teams tied at 45-all and three minutes remaining, Combs was instrumental in Nixa going on a 10-0 run to take the drama out of the game earlier than expected.

Republic also entered the game 17-6 overall and 5-1 in the COC.

Going one-on-one any chance he got, Combs scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter.

"I usually get it going in the first quarter. But I came alive in the fourth," Combs said. "I love penetrating one-on-one, iso-type plays. I also like penetrating and kicking it out to the open man. I like getting my teammates involved and scoring when I need to."

"We try to get him to be aggressive all the time," coach Jay Osborne said. "In the fourth quarter, he really got aggressive."

Josh Mason had a one-on-one bucket of his own that was part of the 10-0 run. He pulled up in the paint to nail a mid-range jumper with a defender draped all over him.

"I was in attack mode because I knew that was the way we were going to keep scoring," Mason said. "It was hard to get 3s tonight. I saw a lane open. (My defender) recovered, but I attacked and was still able to get the shot up. It wasn't ideal. But I knew I could get it."

In addition to big-time buckets, Nixa thrived due to its ball-handling. The Eagles did not commit a turnover in the second half. They came into the night averaging 8.7 turnovers a game.

"They play slow and make a bunch of passes before anybody looks to shoot. It makes the whole game slow down," Mason said of Republic. "Every possession tonight counted. We made the most of ours, especially down the stretch when we needed to."

In addition to Combs' 10 points, Kaleb Wofford scored 11 and Mason and Colton Berry also both had 10.

"The style Republic plays, they're really good defensively and have good discipline. Those type of teams are hard to get away from," Osborne said. "I felt good about our scouting report and I felt good about our prep work for the game. No turnovers in the second half, that's impressive. I was also pleased with our defense. It was one of our better games defensively.

"I think we're starting to peak at the right time," he aded. "We're playing well. We've got to build that up with two more conference games left. I think our best basketball is still ahead of us."

Nixa owns a 48-46 lead on Republic in the teams' all-time series.

"You can't get much closer than that," Osborne said.

"The rivalry is always big-time," Combs said. "Walking into the gym tonight, there was a lot of energy. It wasn't like any other game. We definitely feel the rivalry."

REPUBLIC (48) — Looney 6 2-2 16, Askew 1 0-0 3, Neff 0 1-2 1, McMillin 7 2-2 17, Rexroat 4 0-0 9, Berry 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 5-6 48.

NIXA (53) – Ruffin 1 2-3 4, Long 1 0-0 2, Combs 4 2-2 10, Mason 4 2-3 10, Wofford 3 2-2 11, Sorgenfrei 2 0-0 6, Berry 4 2-2 10. Totals 19 10-12 53.

Republic 4  11 20  13 - 48

Nixa       15  5  14  19 - 53

3-point goals - Wofford 3, Sorgenfrei 2, Looney 2, McMillin, Rexroat, Askew.