BOYS

Lawrence County 62, Russellville 60

The Russellville Golden Tigers opened regular-season Class 5A, Area 14 play with a hard-fought home game versus Lawrence County Dec. 3.

HS jumped out to an 18-10 first quarter lead and held a 40-28 advantage over the Red Devils at the half. The second half belonged to LCHS, with the team outscoring Russellville 19-8 in the fourth quarter to steal the victory.

Chandler Dyas led Russellville with 22 points. Brooks Scott had 16, and Boots McCulloch finished with eight. Jeb Bishop scored seven, while Levi Gist had five, and Jamaal Hubbard scored two.

Hamilton 58, Russellville 54

Russellville traveled to Hamilton Friday night and fell to 0-2 in the area with a close loss to the Aggies.

RHS used a strong second quarter to take a 32-30 lead into the half. Hamilton, however, outscored Russellville by six points in the third period to reclaim the advantage going into the game’s final quarter.

Russellville 60, Athens 59

Dyas scored 27 points, including a four-point-play with 3.2 seconds remaining in the game, to lead RHS to a thrilling victory over the visiting Golden Eagles.

Dyas was fouled on a three-point shot, and the ball bounced on the rim before falling through the basket. Then, the junior calmly sank the following free-throw attempt to give his team the lead.

Athens’ try for an answer was no good at the buzzer, and the home crowd celebrated the win.

Russellville (3-2) outscored the 6A Athens team by a 20-7 fourth-quarter total, though AHS led at the half by a 52-40 score.

“We made some huge, huge plays down the stretch,” Russellville Coach Patrick Odom said after the game. “Obviously, to win it the way we did is exciting, and I think that it’s a great confidence and momentum builder for our team.”

GIRLS

Lawrence County 52, Russellville 45

The Lady Golden Tigers faced off against the Lady Devils in Russellville in an area game Dec. 3.

LCHS used a 14-5 second quarter to take a 22-17 lead into the half. RHS outscored Lawrence County by a 19-14 fourth period total, but it wasn’t enough, as the Lady Devils got the win.

Madison Murray and Lexie Glass scored 11 points apiece to lead Russellville in scoring. Krista Sikes also scored in double figures with 10.

Russellville 55, Hamilton 52

Russellville outscored the Lady Aggies 15-0 down the stretch with the help of pressure defense to get a big area win on the road.

Hamilton led by two at the half and had a 43-32 advantage after three quarters before head coach Jermaine Groce’s team showed determination for the comeback victory.

Madison Murray led Russellville with 16 points, while Autumn Logan also scored in double figures with 14. Sikes had nine, while Jenna Whitfield scored seven.

Athens 63, Russellville 22

The Lady Golden Eagles pulled away early Monday night and never looked back in their win over RHS.

Russellville (2-6) got scoring from six different players during the contest: Murray led the RHS scoring with nine, Logan had five points, Sikes scored three, Cox and Taylor had two points each, and Glass added one point.