Russellville survives pair of close calls
Russellville’s Darrian Graham scores two of his 13 points against Lawrence County. Russellville won 71-65 in overtime to improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in area play. | Scot Beard/FCT
MOULTON — Both the Russellville girls and boys varsity teams held comfortable leads in the first half against Lawrence County Tuesday night, but had to fight off rallies to earn a pair of area victories.
The Lady Golden Tigers — 47-46 winners — led by 10 points at halftime, but Lawrence County shaved Russellville’s lead to only three points entering the final quarter.
Russellville (2-2, 1-0) hit some key free throws down the stretch to pull away, but a 3-pointer by Lawrence County with one second remaining in the game provided the close margin.
Amber Elliot led Russellville with 27-points. Also scoring for the Lady Golden Tigers were Ayanna McCullough (9), Victoria Jackson (7) and Taylor Smith (1).
The Russellville boys had a similar game. The Golden Tigers held an 18-point lead early in the second quarter, but Lawrence County rallied to send the game into overtime.
Russellville pulled away in the extra period for a 71-65 win to improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in area play.
Will Bostick scored 18 points in the first half to spark Russellville early, but only had two points in the second half. His 20 points led the Golden Tigers while Travis Daniels scored 15 points, Darrian Graham scored 13 points and Adonis Robinson added 12 points.
Also scoring for Russellville were A.J. Elliot (8) and Matthew Duncan (5).
Varsity Boys
Phil Campbell 81, Phillips 72
The Bobcats improved to 4-3 overall with an 81-72 victory against Phillips. Phil Campbell had four players reach double-digit scoring in the win.
Skeeter Benford scored a game-high 23 points for the Bobcats while Colton Vickery added 14 points, Jordan Benford scored 13 points and Cameron Harris scored 11 points.
Also scoring for Phil Campbell were DJ Hall (7), Kody Ortiz (3), Jeremy Reed (3), Ben Stancil (2), Chase Swinney (2) and Brady Whitten (1).
Hackleburg 67, Vina 41
Hackleburg outscored Vina 21-5 in the third quarter to pull away for an area win Tuesday.
Nicky Miller led the Red Devils with 15 points while Adam Pharr added 10.
Also scoring for Vina were Brandon McKee (5), Tyler Hammock (3), Patrick White (3), Andrew Hester (2), Nick Schmittou (1), Ethan Pharr (1) and Blake Townsend (1).
Sulligent 72, Red Bay 47
Sulligent built a 15-ponit lead by halftime and never looked back to beat Red Bay in area action Tuesday.
Cody Reynolds led the Tigers with 10 points. Also scoring for Red Bay were Steven Nabers (9), Brett McDowell (6), Cory Timbs (6), Austin Malone (5), Chase Lindsey (4), Blake Brummett (4) and hunter Childers (3).
Colbert County 67, Tharptown 54
Tharptown trailed by eight points entering the final quarter, but was unable to rally for the victory Tuesday.
Jacob Parker scored a game-high 22 points for the Wildcats while Wade Berryman added 12 points and Kelby Hallmark scored 10 points.
Also scoring for Tharptown were Nick Long (3), Cody Cagle (3), Nathan Gray (2) and Rile Hughes (2).
Varsity Girls
Red Bay 64, Sulligent 41
The Lady Tigers improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in area play with a convincing win against Sulligent.
Jade Ezzell led Red Bay with 18 points while Whitney Sharp added 13 points and Hannah Sharp scored 10 points.
Also scoring for the Lady Tigers were Morgan McKinney (6), Lauren Pacetti (4), Leah Fuller (4). Mariah Horton (3), Brooke Gresham (2), Hannah Stockton (2) and Alaina Hester (2).
Phil Campbell 51, Phillips 36
Three Lady Bobcats reached double-digit scoring to propel Phil Campbell past Phillips.
Autumn Thomas scored a game-high 17 points while Ciara Harville added 15 points and Whitley Yocum scored 11 points.
Also scoring for the Lady Bobcats were Taylor Scott (6) and Sarah Hilliard (4).
Hackleburg 55, Vina 26
The Lady Red Devils dropped to 4-5 overall with their loss to Hackleburg.
Fallyn Shotts led Vina with nine points. Also scoring for the Lady Red Devils were Andria Parrish (5), Claudia Townsend (4), Miranda Howard (3), Shelby Boyd (2), Courtney Watson (2) and Amanda Patterson (1).
Colbert County 52, Tharptown 42
The Lady Wildcats trailed by one point at halftime, but Colbert County was able to pull away in the third quarter to earn the victory.
Kendra Baker led Tharptown with 18 points. Also scoring for the Lady Wildcats were Kamri Sears (9), Chloe Lane (8), Erica Valdez (8), Kirsten Nolan (2) and Erika Sparks (1).
