Russellville boys roll past Cullman, girls pull away late

By Staff
Slade Gilmer
For the FCT
Russellville jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back in a 64-45 win over Cullman Tuesday at Russellville.
The Golden Tigers led 21-11 after one quarter of play, and 37-18 at halftime.
"Defensively, we were able to get them to miss some shots and that allowed us to get in our transition game," said Russellville coach Michael Smith. "We shot the ball well."
Cullman fought back in the third quarter, outscoring Russellville 16-15, but were unable to get closer than 15 in the fourth quarter.
Terence Smith led the way for Russellville with 14 points, while Jermaine Bates added 10. Mark Davis and Will Bostick each added nine points – all on 3-pointers – while Nate Dunstan added eight. Darian Graham dropped in seven, while Micah McCulloch chipped in with five and Chase Johnson added two.
For Cullman, Grayson Smith scored a game-high 24.
Russellville 62,
Cullman 50
Russellville weathered several Cullman rallies before pulling away for a 62-50 win Tuesday at Russellville.
The Lady Tigers led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter and 30-26 at halftime, but every time they seemed to be pulling away, the Lady Bearcats responded with a rally fueled by their outside shooting.
"We knew they had some good 3-point shooters and they kept hitting them," said Russellville coach James Bostick.
The Lady Bearcats trailed 46-36 late in the third quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers cut the Russellville lead to four heading to the final stanza.
The Lady Tigers used their athleticism to force Cullman turnovers, but again, the Bearcats came back to cut the lead to 53-50. However, Cullman would get no closer.
"I thought at the end of the game we played real solid defense," said Bostick.
Erin Reynolds led the way for Russellville with 25 points, while Natasha West added 14.
Taylor Smith chipped in with eight, Janarie Donley and Halie Harvey each added six, and Amber Eliot rounded out the scoring with three.