BOYS

Bracy Invitational

The Russellville varsity boys took part in the Bracy Invitational at Deshler High School for three days after Christmas, and the Golden Tigers won a game and lost two.

Dec. 26 RHS opened the tournament with a loss to Covenant Christian by a 51-48 score. The following day, the Golden Tigers defeated Central-Florence, 58-56, and Russellville finished up action in the tourney Dec. 28 with a loss against Tanner by a 68-61 final score.

West Point 77, Russellville 75

Through the first three games in Class 5A, Area 14 play, Russellville has been competitive, but the Golden Tigers are still looking for that first win in the area after losing a close contest at West Point.

RHS led after the first quarter, 19-15, and took a 36-30 advantage into the half. WPHS came out strong in the third period and outscored Russellville 29-19 in the quarter.

Chandler Dyas led RHS with 25 points. Brooks Scott also scored in double figures with 21.

Russellville 63, Central-Florence 53

The Golden Tigers got back onto the winning track with a victory at Central Jan. 4. The win was the third this season for RHS over the Wildcats in as many tries.

Russellville (9-6, 0-3) got a trio of players into double figures, with Brooks Scott finishing the game with 25 points.

“He played really good basketball,” Russellville head coach Patrick Odom said of Scott’s performance. “If you look at his last three or four games, he’s playing at a higher level than he’s ever played for us, and that’s what we need.”

Jeb Bishop was next in scoring with 17, and Dyas followed with 15.

After trailing 13-12 at the end of the first quarter, Russellville took a 29-23 lead into the half. The Golden Tigers outdid Central 19-17 in the third period and 15-13 in the fourth to get the victory.

GIRLS

West Point 84, Russellville 34

West Point stayed unbeaten in Class 5A, Area 14, with a dominating win over the Lady Golden Tigers Jan. 3.

The Warriors led 58-14 at the half and held a 72-25 advantage after three quarters to drop the RHS record to 1-2 in the area.

Madison Murray led Russellville with 10 points.

Central-Florence 44, Russellville 33

Murray reached the 1,000-point mark for her career at Russellville during the Lady Golden Tigers’ game Saturday at Central.

Russellville held a 10-6 lead after one quarter and was up 15-12 at the end of a low-scoring first half but couldn’t hold on for the victory.

Murray and Autumn Logan were the leaders in scoring for Russellville with 11 each.

Belgreen 55, Russellville 47

The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Golden Tigers battled on the hardwood for the second time this season, and BHS got the win Jan. 6 after also defeating RHS by a 55-41 score at Belgreen Dec. 19.

The game Monday night was physical and competitive throughout, with Belgreen leading 11-7 at the end of the first quarter. Russellville (4-13) battled back in the second and outscored the Bulldogs, 21-16 in the period to take a 28-27 advantage into the half.

The two teams were tied 41-41 going into the fourth when head coach Chad Green’s Belgreen squad pulled away for the win.

Ansley Tate of Belgreen led all scorers with 20 points. Emma Dempsey added 15, and Autumn Bragwell had eight.

Murray led the way for RHS with 15.

In addition to the games against Belgreen, Russellville faces Franklin County opponents Red Bay and Vina this season, and the matchups against county rivals make for some good competition.

“When I took the job, it was really important for me,” Russellville head coach Jermaine Groce said about playing county rivals. “I told our administration I wanted to bring back some of the rivalries within the county. Some of the girls have a lot of friends and family out in the county, and they’re just really excited about playing games like this.”