By Staff
Lady Red Raiders battle back to beat Russellville
Kim West
Franklin County Times
DECATUR – The Russellville varsity boys defeated Decatur 68-41 Saturday night as the Golden Tigers improved to 15-0 overall and 2-0 in Class 5A, Area 16.
Russellville, which beat Muscle Shoals Friday night in its area opener, held only a 27-20 lead at halftime but pulled away from the struggling Red Raiders (2-12, 0-3) in the second half with a 19-11 third quarter and a 22-10 outburst in the final quarter.
Russellville converted 15-of-21 free throws in the second half – Jermaine Bates and Terence Smith each sank 7-of-10.
Bates scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Smith had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Cory Trapp added 11 points as three starters finished in double figures for the Golden Tigers. Siran Winston finished with eight points, and Tucker Hammock (5), Micah McCulloch (4) and Chase Johnson (3) also scored for Russellville.
William Johnson led Dectur with eight points, and Mitch Fawcett added seven.
Decatur 62
Russellville 36
The Russellville varsity girls led 24-23 at halftime, but Decatur battled back with a big third quarter to win 62-36 Saturday night.
The Lady Red Raiders received 23 points from their bench and used its full-court press effectively in the second half. They went on a 24-4 third quarter run to go ahead 47-28 and outscored Russellville 15-8 in the final period to put the game away.
Erin Reynolds led the Lady Golden Tigers with 13 points, while Tasha West added 10.
Britney McCloud had a game-high 17 points, while Whitney Fletcher added 11.
The Russellville varsity teams will host Class 4A Haleyville Thursday beginning at 4:30 p.m.