Golden Tigers look to bounce back as Trojans come to town

By Staff
Mike Self, FCT Sports Editor.
The Russellville boys basketball team is in familiar territory as they prepare for tonight's Class 5A, Area 16 showdown with Muscle Shoals.
A year ago, the Golden Tigers jumped out to a 7-1 record and won the Lawrence County Christmas Tournament. In their first game after the holidays, they struggled offensively and lost their area opener at home to Hartselle.
The following night, Russellville bounced back with a 71-67 victory over Muscle Shoals, ranked No. 4 in the state at the time.
This season, the Golden Tigers again got off to a great start, opening up 9-1 and winning the Big Blue Classic at Brewer High School. Once again, they were unable to carry that momentum over into the New Year, falling 69-47 to Decatur in their area opener on Tuesday.
Now, as the Golden Tigers (9-2, 0-1 area) try to regroup and avoid falling to 0-2 in an extremely tough area, they again find themselves hoping to bounce back against their familiar rivals, the Trojans.
Russellville coach Michael Smith said Tuesday's loss to Decatur makes tonight's game that much more important.
"It's even bigger now," said Smith, whose team will play a third straight area game next Tuesday when they travel to Athens. "We're in a critical stretch right now. These games count. If we can beat Muscle Shoals, we'll still be in contention to finish first or second in the area."
Beating Muscle Shoals will be no easy task. Coach Dennis Conner's Trojans are off to a 14-2 start, and they won the TimesDaily Classic championship just before Christmas. Freshman Ralston Turner, who played on an AAU team this past summer with Russellville freshmen Terence Smith and Nate Dunstan, is a superstar in the making, and senior guard Greg Johnson gives the Trojans experience and good perimeter shooting.
Guards Reed Morgan and Adrian McCord, key reserves last season, have performed well after stepping into more prominent roles this season.
Last year, Muscle Shoals won three of four meetings with Russellville, including a 65-50 win in the first round of the Class 5A, Area 16 tournament that ended the Golden Tigers' season.
Russellville guard Cory Trapp, who had averaged nearly 17 points in the first three games against the Trojans last year, was held scoreless in that final meeting thanks in large part to the sticky defense of McCord.
Trapp is averaging 17.4 points per game so far this season, but he managed just five in Tuesday's loss to Decatur.
The Golden Tigers made just one three-pointer, by far their season-low, and shot only 36 percent from the floor overall.
Smith was pleased, however, with the play of his young post players, sophomore Andy Pounders and freshman Nate Dunstan. The two combined for 16 points against the Red Raiders.
"That was a big bright spot for us," Smith said. "I thought both Nate and Andy played well inside. If they can continue to play like that, it will really help us in the long run."
For now, the Golden Tigers must get back to the way they were playing before the calendar flipped, when they won nine of 10 games and averaged better than 72 points per contest.
"January is a big month for us, and we just have to focus on continuing to improve," Smith said.