Russellville basketball teams get senior night wins over Red Bay
The Russellville Golden Tigers wrapped up the varsity basketball regular season with a busy week of games. The RHS boys will host the area tournament with an overall record of 15-10, while the Lady Golden Tigers have an 11-16 record and will travel to West Point for the area tourney.
BOYS
Russellville 53, Red Bay 43
Russellville hosted Red Bay for senior night, and the Golden Tigers got the win.
Red Bay jumped out front to start the game, holding a 17-9 first-quarter lead and a slim two-point advantage at the half. RBHS was ahead 43-38 after three quarters, but Russellville held the Tigers scoreless in the fourth period to get the victory.
Ten Golden Tigers scored, with Gavin Hyde and Malachi Duncan leading the way with 13 points apiece. Amir Williams added six and was followed by Jah Williams, KJ Murray and Conner Warhurst with four each. Mike Young scored three, while EJ King, Randell Johnson and Tilmon Baker finished with two points each.
Scoring for Red Bay were BP Blair with 12, Lawson Glover 10, Holden Inmon seven, Ethan McCoy four, Cody Carnes and Gage Edgmon three apiece and Kennedy Wilemon and Ty Reynolds with two points each.
Florence 80, Russellville 76
For the regular season finale, Russellville traveled to Florence. RHS and the Falcons played a highly-competitive game in which the Golden Tigers were in control for the first three quarters.
Russellville had a 19-16 first quarter advantage and led 38-31 at the half. Duncan got hot from beyond the three-point line in the third period, sinking five three-pointers to grow the Russellville lead to 14 points going into the fourth quarter.
The Falcons then finished with a flurry and swooped in for the win. With the game tied at 76-76, FHS took a timeout with 28.5 seconds on the clock. A drive to the basket resulted in two points, and the following inbounds pass by Russellville was stolen. Immediately after the steal, Florence added another lay-up at the buzzer to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
Duncan led Russellville with 22 points. Amir Williams and King scored 15 apiece, and Bralynn Vincent added 12. Murray was next with eight, and Warhurst added four.
GIRLS
Russellville 54, Red Bay 30
The Lady Golden Tigers celebrated senior night with a win over Red Bay. RHS used an 11-5 second quarter to erase an early deficit, and the final two quarters also went the way of Russellville, as the Lady Golden Tigers outpaced Red Bay 35-16 to finish the contest.
Ella Copeland had 15 points, all the second half, to lead RHS. Anna Beth Oliver scored 13, and Laila Hill and Jacey Moore added 10 apiece. Jenna Whitfield, Avery Watts and Kylee Phifer also entered into the scoring column with two points each.
Red Bay’s top scorer was Jaycee Vinson with 11. Kaylie Lindley followed with 10. Amber Mason and Shelby Nichols had four each, and Julianna Eaton added one point.
Belgreen 46, Russellville 43
The following evening, Russellville played at Belgreen, and the Bulldogs got the close win. RHS led 26-21 at the half and 37-33 after three quarters of play before Belgreen came on strong late.
Copeland had 15 for Russellville. Moore added 11, Watts scored seven, and Hill had six. Whitfield and Oliver rounded out the RHS scoring with two points each.
Belgreen was led by Dacota Green’s 21 points. She was followed by Noelle Willingham with 11, Carson Hovater with eight and Lilliana Willingham with three.
Russellville 63, Central-Florence 45
RHS went to Central Feb. 2 and had no trouble in the second half with the Wildcats after trailing 30-28 at the end of the first two quarters.
Copeland and Hill had 19 each to lead Russellville. Oliver scored 11, Watts eight, Whitfield four and Moore two.
Florence 61, Russellville 52
The Lady Falcons started fast with a 20-5 first period lead and held off a second half run by Russellville.
Jacey Moore led RHS with 22 points. Watts added nine, Whitfield eight, Copeland six, Hill four, and Oliver scored three.
