The Russellville boys varsity basketball team took the court against Franklin County neighbors from Red Bay Dec. 12 at RHS – and the Golden Tigers got the win by a 77-44 score.

Russellville (2-2) jumped out to a 16-8 first quarter lead and never looked back. By halftime the advantage had grown to 42-19, and RHS was on top 56-33 after three quarters of the contest.

Brooks Scott was Russellville’s leading scorer, doing damage under the basket with 20 points. He was followed in double figures by Chandler Dyas and Jeb Bishop, who scored 12 points each, and Eli Gipson’s 11.

Boots McCulloch finished with seven, and Ashton Boyd added six. Samuel Pace pitched in with five, while Nathan Brockway and Conner Warhurst scored two points apiece.

“I think us and Red Bay are very similar in that most everybody else has played more games than we have,” said Russellville head coach Patrick Odom. “So, we need to play, and I think the more we play, the better we get.

“The more we play, as a coaching staff, we’re finding out how we have to play. I thought we did a great job of imposing our will on the pace of the game.”

Haleyville 62, Russellville 48

The Haleyville Lions used a strong second half to pull away and take the home victory over Russellville Dec. 8.

Haleyville held a slim 25-23 advantage at the half and went on to outscore the Golden Tigers 21-12 in the third and 16-13 down the stretch. Dyas led RHS with 19 points and Bishop added 11. Gipson scored six, Scott had five, Brockway pitched in with four, McCulloch scored two and Warhurst had one.

Hamilton 61, Russellville 59

Russellville dropped a second-straight road game and fell to 1-2 on the season with a close loss to the Aggies.

The two teams traded 16-10 advantages over the first two quarters, resulting in a 26-26 score at the half. HHS outdid the Golden Tigers by five in the third period before Russellville tried to rally in the fourth.

Russellville was led in scoring by Dyas, who had 14 points. Gipson with 13 and Scott with 12 also scored in double figures. Brockway scored eight, Pace scored five, and Boyd scored three.

GIRLS

Red Bay 50, Russellville 38

The Red Bay Lady Tigers went to Russellville and used a 23-6 fourth quarter to pull away for the victory.

Russellville (1-6) got 12 first- quarter points from Jenna Whitfield and led 16-10. Then RBHS turned on the defense in the second period and held the Lady Golden Tigers to three points in the quarter.

RHS put together a strong third and got scoring from five different players to take a 32-27 lead going into the game’s final period.

Whitfield led Russellville with 16 points. She was followed by Jayna Poss with nine. Avery Watts, Leah Rushing and Jacey Moore all scored three points apiece. Fallin Cox and Amya Carter scored two each.

“We’re growing, and we’re reducing our turnovers, which was one of our Achilles heels all season,” said Russellville head coach Jermaine Groce. “We’re still struggling on the boards. We’re an undersized team, and we’re trying to figure out how to rebound as a unit as opposed to depending on a true center.”

Haleyville 45, Russellville 33

The Lady Golden Tigers fell behind early at Haleyville and were not able to recover in a loss to the Lady Lions.

HHS held a 15-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 27-18 advantage at the half. The Russellville girls battled to the final whistle and outscored their opponent 9-2 in the final period.

Poss led RHS with 10 points. Anna Beth Oliver scored eight, Whitfield scored six, Rushing scored five, and Moore scored two for Russellville.

Hamilton 72, Russellville 26

Russellville struggled to get things going at Hamilton and was outscored 27-2 in the first quarter and 22-5 in the second period.

Whitfield led RHS in scoring with 10. Oliver scored six, and Fallin Cox scored five.

Poss and Watts finished with two points each, and Rushing added one.