RHS teams get wins over Brooks, Lawrence Co.
By Brannon King for the FCT
Boys
Russellville 66, Brooks 36
The Russellville Golden Tigers used a strong defensive effort to claim a big win over the Brooks Lions at RHS in their first of three-straight key Class 5A, Area 16 games. Russellville jumped out to a 17-10 first quarter lead and held a 36-17 halftime advantage. The Golden Tigers outscored the Lions 24-14 in the third period to put the score out of reach.
“I thought our guys did a solid job tonight of doing what we needed to do and what we’re supposed to do,” Russellville Head Coach Patrick Odom said. “As we’ve hit January, I love the relentless approach of our guys; we’re just working and grinding. The defense tonight was some of the best we’ve played consistently all year.”
Russellville’s Bailey Motes led all scorers with 18 points. RHS also got points from Lucas McNutt (15), Judd Ward (12), Caden Parker (11), Devin Buckhalter (5), Austin Stidham (3) and Taylor Vincent (2).
Russellville 70, East Limestone 60
The Golden Tigers went on the road and took a make-up game against the Indians. Russellville led from start to finish and got scoring from six different players.
Devin Buckhalter scored a season-high 25 points in the victory. He was followed by Motes (23), Stidham (13), McNutt (4), Ward (3) and Vincent (2). Gary Gilbert had 23 points for the Indians while Jamil Pride scored 22.
With the win, Russellville improved to 12-3 on the season and 4-0 in Class 5A, Area 16. The two schools will meet again Jan. 20 at RHS.
Russellville 59, Lawrence County 43
Buckhalter again led the way for Russellville and the Golden Tigers took an important road win in Moulton against the LCHS Red Devils. The win was the fifth straight for RHS and improved their overall record to 13-3 and 5-0 in Class 5A, Area 16. With the victory, Russellville claimed at least a tie for the regular season Area 16 championship.
Five Golden Tigers scored in the game with Buckhalter scoring the most with 18 points. McNutt had 15 points while Motes (14) and Stidham (10) also scored in double figures. Ward added 2 points for RHS.
Sparkman 74, Russellville 43
RHS participated in the Bojangles’ Shootout at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville on Monday and found the going to be tough against the Sparkman Senators. The two teams played to a 16-16 tie at the end of the first quarter, but it was the second period when Sparkman took over the contest by outscoring RHS 25-10. Russellville played without injured starter Vincent and struggled to get things going while Motes picked up four fouls in the first half of play.
Stidham played well under the basket and led RHS with 17 points. He was followed by Ward (7), Buckhalter (7), McNutt (5), Motes (3), Nate Franklin (2) and Parker (2).
Girls
Russellville 36, Brooks 20
The Lady Golden Tigers played good, tough defense and hit some key outside shots down the stretch to get a win over the Lions.
The second and fourth quarters went the way of the Lady Golden Tigers to make the difference. RHS outscored Brooks 11-4 in the second and 18-3 in the fourth.
“I was really proud of the resiliency of our kids tonight,” Russellville Head Coach Corey Thomaston said. “I thought that they came out and executed our game plan early, and then we went into a little bit of a lull. Fortunately, between our defense and rebounding, it really gave us a chance to stay in the game until we could find a rhythm.”
Makayla Phifer led Russellville with nine points. She was followed by Kallie Allen (8), KK Harvey (8), Treyvia Pruitt (5), Madison Murray (4), Krista Sikes (1) and AJ Taylor (1).
East Limestone 49, Russellville 39
Russellville outscored the Lady Indians by a 19-18 score in the fourth period but unfortunately for the Lady Golden Tigers, they only had a total of 20 points entering that final quarter.
Seven players scored for RHS in the game. Madison Murray led Russellville with 11 points. Allen, Sikes and Pruitt all had eight points each for RHS. They were followed by Phifer (2), Jamie Hill (1) and Autumn Logan (1).
Russellville 42, Lawrence County 40 (OT)
Madison Murray scored eight of Russellville’s nine overtime points to help her team to an exciting win on the road against the Red Devils.
Russellville (4-15, 2-3) outscored LCHS 10-2 in the second quarter, but the Red Devils fought back and outdid the Golden Tigers 12-3 in the third period. Murray led all scorers in the game with 22 points. Allen (5), Harvey (4), Phifer (3), Hill (2), Lexie Glass (2), Logan (2), Taylor (1) and Pruitt (1) also scored for RHS.
Bob Jones 53, Russellville 13
The Lady Patriots jumped out to a 15-3 first quarter lead and never looked back in a Bojangles’ Shootout game at Wallace State in Hanceville. RHS found it hard to score in the game and were led in points by Madison Murray with nine. Taylor scored two for Russellville, while Pruitt and Harvey each had one point apiece.
