Golden Tigers pound Colbert County in tourney opener

By Staff
Scot Beard
MUSCLE SHOALS – The Russellville varsity boys basketball team entered the 2009 Times Daily Classic as the two-time defending champion. It also entered with a 1-3 record.
The Golden Tigers looked to be in championship form as they cruised past Colbert County 78-47 in Monday's opening round game.
"It's a start," said Russellville coach Michael Smith. "We were doing some things right, but there are still a lot of wrinkles."
The Golden Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but Colbert County closed the deficit to 8-7 near the end of the first quarter.
Russellville responded by going on a 21-0 run to take control of the game. The Golden Tigers led by as many as 25 points during the second quarter.
Smith said the run was a much-needed confidence boost for his squad.
"We started getting more bounce and started hitting shots," Smith said. "We have to do that all the time, not just in spurts."
Colbert County tried to get a rally going several times in the second half, but each time the Indians would score a few baskets, Russellville answered with a run of its own.
Despite the comfortable winning margin, the Golden Tigers played sloppy at times.
"We were able to play a lot of bodies," Smith said. "Sometimes when you do that, you have a lot of turnovers."
Russellville had three players reach double-digit scoring during the game. Darrian Graham led the way with 18 points while Will Bostick scored 15 and Terence Smith scored 12 points.
Also scoring for the Golden Tigers were Corey Bolton (9), Mark Davis (8), A.J. Elliot (7), Adonis Robinson (2), Trey Warhurst (2), Mike Golhston (2), Matthew Duncan (2) and David Hamilton (1).
With the win Russellville advanced to the second round to play Brooks. That game was played Tuesday, but concluded too late to be included in today's edition of The Franklin County Times.