RHS boys sweep, as girls go 0-2
Russellville (boys) 63, Fairview 53
The RHS Golden Tigers came out strong last Tuesday night at Fairview when they started off the game on a 16-0 run and held strong when the Aggies battled back, putting together several rallies. Russellville hung on to pick up a big key Area win to improve to 3-1 in Class 5A, Area 14.
“Our guys obviously came out ready to play,” said Russellville Coach Patrick Odom, whose team improved 5-8 on the year.
Joshua Seal finished with team-high 22 points to lead Russellville, surpassing the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season. Avery Sears finished with 11 points. Taylor Vincent added nine points.
“Like I told our guys, an ugly win on the road is a pretty win, no matter what,” Odom said. “We’re still struggling to put together 32 minutes of good basketball, but I thought we played a solid fourth quarter tonight to put this one away. We did a good job of going to the foul line and making some big free throws, which is something we’ve struggled with at times.”
Russellville (girls) 23, Fairview 53
Russellville’s Lady Golden Tigers would fall short, this time to Fairview, who got a big lead and kept it.
Leading scorer for the Lady Golden Tigers was Patricia Borden with eight points.
Russellville 65, Lawrence County 52
Russellville played one of the best games of the season as they beat the visiting Red Devils Jan. 8.
“I was happy to see our guys come out and play the way they did,” Odom said.
The Golden Tigers outscored Lawrence County 24-13 in the second quarter to break open a tight game and led by as many as 18 points in the second half.
“This was one of our best efforts of the season. We talked before this game about everybody understanding their roles and going out and fulfilling that role to the best of their ability, and that’s exactly what we got,” Odom said.
Russellville (6-9, 4-1) in Class 5A Area 14 will play its final area game of the regular season this Friday against West Point in a big game where the winner will clinch home-court advantage in next month’s Area Tournament.
Austin Stidham finished his night with team-high 16 points. Adonnis Bailey (12) and Sears (10) also finished in double figures for the Golden Tigers. Vincent and Seal almost cracked double digits as they added eight points apiece.
Russellville 33, Lawrence County 51
The Lady Golden Tigers just couldn’t figure out the Red Devils, a team they lost to Dec. 18 in Moulton 61-29 and lost to again Jan. 8 – this time 51-33.
“We came out better in this game, unlike how we did last time,” Coach Brooke Long said. “Our intensity was better. We came out and played like we actually believed we could win the game. We played hard and with more confidence. That’s what I wanted to see.”
Senior Aleshia Phillips finished with seven points to lead Russellville. Borden and Megan Brockway added six points each.
