No. 3 Russellville raids Decatur
By Staff
Kim West
The third-ranked Russellville boys used a torrid 3-point shooting attack to take a big lead in the first half and then held off a desperate surge in the second half by Decatur to win 70-57 Friday and clinch the Class 5A, Area 16 championship.
The undefeated Golden Tigers won their school-best 21st game this season despite nearly letting a 22-point fourth quarter lead slip away.
With Russellville leading 58-36 to start the final period. Decatur embarked on a 15-0 run sparked by a 3-pointer and fallaway jumper by Justin Bishop.
The Red Raiders' run cut the lead to 62-56, but Siran Winston scored an acrobatic layup and then forced a turnover that led to a Nate Dunstan basket. Russellville then put the game out of reach with two free throws from Terence Smith and a fast-break layup by Jordan Hammond on a sharp bounce pass from Cory Trapp.
Russellville held a 37-26 halftime lead thanks to 8-of-13 shooting from 3-point range, including three treys from Hammond, who scored 16 points after pouring in a career-best 32 points against Athens Tuesday.
Bates finished with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, along with three assists, including a beautiful no-look feed to Winston in the paint during an 11-0 run by Russellville (21-0, 6-0) in the third quarter.
Trapp, who shot 5-of-11 behind the arc, had 15 points, while Winston added 10 points, eight assists and six steals.
Torrick Spangler led Decatur with 20 points and nine rebounds, and William Johnson had 15.
Decatur 66
Russellville 58
Cold-shooting Decatur used its full-court press to force 34 turnovers by Russellville in a 66-58 win on the road Friday night.
Decatur shot 35 percent from the field and was only 5-of-22 from 3-point range, but the Lady Red Raiders scored 31 points off turnovers.
Russellville, which had a 52-32 rebounding advantage, led 49-46 heading into the final quarter but Decatur seized the lead and went ahead 58-55 with 3:21 left on a 3-pointer by Britney McCloud and two free throws from Ashley Witherspoon.
Victoria Taylor forced a turnover as the Lady Red Raiders attempted to stall, but Russellville missed three straight shots on its next possession and Decatur scored seven unanswered points to put the game away.
Tasha West led Russellville with 29 points and 17 rebounds, while Erin Reynolds had 24 points.
Whitney Fletcher paced Decatur with 22 points, and McCloud added 18.
