Golden Tigers end season with loss
By Brannon King / For the FCT
Going into the Class 5A, Area 16 tournament, the Russellville Golden Tiger basketball team knew they had a big challenge in front of them if they were to extend their season with a win. It would take one of the best performances of the season to take out top-seeded Brooks on the Lions’ home floor in Killen.
Ultimately, the Lions were just too much to handle, and RHS ended the 2017-18 season with a 68-53 loss.
Russellville entered the contest Feb. 6 having won the past two area tournaments under head coach Patrick Odom and also came in with some momentum by closing the regular season with two-straight wins. Brooks, on the other hand, had lost the final regular season game to Central-Florence but came in with a 27-1 record, a No. 5 ranking in 5A and a balanced attack.
The two teams played an entertaining first quarter, with the Lions only holding a 15-14 lead after one period of play. Blaine Roberson of Brooks showed some sharp-shooting skills from outside by making three three-pointers in the early minutes of the game.
It was during the second and third quarters that BHS started to take control. Russellville (7-17) only managed to tally 10 points in the second and third quarters each, and the Golden Tigers trailed 52-34 going into the fourth quarter.
Russellville outscored Brooks by three in that final period, as the Lions did not score until three minutes into it, but it was not enough to erase the total deficit.
The game’s top scorer was Russellville junior Devin Buckhalter with 19. Brett Urban led Brooks with 16 while his teammates Dusty Quillen had 14 points and Noah Turbyfill pitched in 10 in the victory.
Brock Malone followed Buckhalter in the RHS scoring column with 11, and Lucas McNutt also scored in double figures with 10. Caden Parker had seven points for RHS; Logan Jones, playing his last game, had four, and eighth-grader Will Bonner scored two.
Brooks went on to take the tournament title with a 52-26 win over Lawrence County later in the week, and both of those teams will advance to subregion play.
“You credit Brooks tonight,” Odom said after the RHS game against the Lions. “They had so many different guys make shots and make plays that put a lot of pressure on us. We struggled at times to score, and a lot of that is a credit to them and how they defended us.
“Our guys fought to the absolute bitter end tonight, and that’s a testament to those five seniors (Calen Bragwell, Logan Jones, Houston Kitterman, Danny Hernandez and Brock Malone) and the character they have and also all of our guys across our roster. We want to thank them for the work they’ve given us, and for our underclassmen, we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
“We’re not used to ending the season this early, and we’re not about to let it become the norm.”
