Varsity Boys

Russellville 83, Lawrence County 43

The Golden Tigers traveled to Moulton Dec. 4 to open area play and came away with a dominating win over the Red Devils.

A strong first quarter set the tone for Russellville, as the boys outscored LCHS 24-9 in the opening period. Russellville’s defense made things tough throughout the game for their opponent, and the Red Devils managed only five fourth-quarter points.

Russellville was led in scoring by freshman point guard Will Bonner. He finished with 20 points, while Devin Buckhalter had 17. Lucas McNutt and Colin Bonner also scored in double figures with 10 points apiece. Chandler Dyas and Brooks Scott added nine points each, while Jeb Bishop and Jamaal Hubbard had four apiece.

Russellville 77, Hamilton 72 (Overtime)

Russellville’s home opener Friday night was an exciting matchup between the Golden Tigers and the previously unbeaten Aggies.

The two teams battled to the end, with RHS coming out on top in overtime to improve the Golden Tigers’ regular season area record to 2-0.

The Golden Tigers led 39-34 at the half. Bonner led RHS in scoring with 24 points. Dyas scored 17, and Buckhalter had 16. Caden Parker and McNutt had eight points apiece, while Bishop scored four.

The early season game had the feeling of a post-season contest. “I can’t thank our kids, our student section and our community enough,” said Russellville head coach Patrick Odom. “This gym was full, and it was a lot of fun. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, and that’s what you expect when Russellville plays athletics.

“I’m proud of not just our team but our community because you would think this was area finals tonight by how it felt.”

Deshler 70, Russellville 57

After the Hamilton win, the Golden Tigers went to Tuscumbia Saturday and struggled against DHS. Belgreen graduate Brian Pounders’ Deshler squad took the basketball court just one day after the school’s football team played in the state championship game and used a 34-point performance by JP Robinson to get the victory against RHS.

Nine Russellville players scored in the contest. Caden Parker led RHS scorers with 16.

Russellville 81, Colbert County 46

The Golden Tigers (5-2, 2-0) got back on track with a home victory over the Indians at RHS Monday night.

McNutt led the hot-shooting RHS team with 27 points.

Varsity Girls

Russellville 49, Lawrence County 20

The Lady Golden Tigers put together an impressive area win over Lawrence County Dec. 4.

RHS led 30-13 at the half and held the Red Devils to only one point in the fourth quarter. Three Russellville players scored in double figures: Madison Murray and AJ Taylor had 12 points each, while Fallin Cox had 11. The trio of Krista Sikes, Lexie Glass and Autumn Logan had four points each, and Alivia Clemmons scored two for RHS.

“I loved the effort and the energy we put on the floor,” said Russellville head coach Corey Thomaston. “We hit some shots early, and that really relaxed our team and gave us an opportunity to get into the flow. We enforced our will defensively, and our guards really showed up and showed out.”

Hamilton 49, Russellville 41

The Lady Aggies came to RHS and took the area contest between the two schools in a close game. Hamilton led 24-23 at the half after an even first quarter, and the Aggies outscored Russellville 16-12 in the game’s final quarter.

Murray led RHS with 15 points. Chalea Clemmons (8), Logan (8), Taylor (5), Glass (4) and Sikes (1) also scored for Russellville.

Deshler 70, Russellville 40

A strong DHS team was too much for the Lady Golden Tigers Saturday. Deshler held a 38-23 halftime advantage and led 59-33 after three quarters.

Murray had 14 points, and Sikes scored 10. Taylor (5), Alivia Clemmons (4), Logan (4), Cox (2) and Don’Kyiah Ramson (1) also scored for RHS.

Russellville 56, Colbert County 32

The Lady Golden Tigers (3-7, 1-1) cruised to victory on their home court Monday night against the Lady Indians.

RHS outscored Colbert County in each of the four quarters and held a 33-18 lead at the half. CCHS played with four players for a portion of the final period of the game before finishing the contest with the usual number of five on the floor, as fouls were an issue for the team.

Lexie Glass scored in double figures for Russellville with 10 points.