Golden Tigers fall to 7-5 after 64-54 loss to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa

The Russellville High School varsity boys’ basketball team dropped to 7-5 overall after a 10-point loss to visiting Hillcrest Tuscaloosa on Friday night. After trailing in the first half, Russellville took the lead but was unable to hold on to it as the Patriots won out in the end 64-54.

“You credit (Hillcrest),” Russellville head coach Patrick Odom, now in his 10th season in charge of the Golden Tigers, said. “They’re a really good basketball team. If you look at what they’ve done this year, they’ve beaten some of the best in the state.”

The Golden Tigers had a tough time rebounding against the Patriots, allowing for second chance baskets on the visitors’ end, and the hosts didn’t get every call they wanted, but Odom said he was proud of the energy his team displayed in the defeat.

“I love how we played,” he said. “We didn’t finish real well. You know, they amped up the physicality a little bit and I thought the game was— some fouls that were called early weren’t called in there, which is frustrating. But love how we played, love how we competed. That’s as high level (of basketball) as you’re going to see, we just didn’t finish real well tonight. Still, it’s a great opportunity for us to get ready for area play.

“We had a chance to win this game,” he added. “To be able to do that against elite competition, you gotta feel good about where your guys are and what we’re doing.”

Senior guard EJ King, who is averaging 30.9 points-per-game this season, led the Golden Tigers with a 31-point performance in the loss. Daniel Aycock finished with nine points off three three-pointers for RHS and Jah Williams ended the game with eight points.

Going into the Hillcrest game, Russellville was coming off a run of three games at the Bracy Invitational held at Deshler High School December 26-28. The Golden Tigers picked up a 72-49 win over Central on the 26th and routed South Lamar 70-31 on the 28th. In between those two victories, RHS fell to Brooks 51-48 on the 27th.

Odom said the Bracy Invitational was another chance for his squad to get better and see different looks.

“I feel like we’ve gotten better through this stretch,” he said. “We played a lot of good people, and I think we’ve seen a lot of different styles of basketball that I think helps prepare you for the craziness of what you might see in an area game.”

King led the Golden Tigers in scoring in each of their three games at the Bracy Invitational, averaging 35 points per. The all-state senior scored a season-high 39 points in Russellville’s tournament-opening win over Central. Williams also had a good tournament, scoring 10 points in each contest against South Lamar and Brooks.

The Golden Tigers will begin Class 5A Area 15 play at home in their next game on January 7th as the West Point Warriors come to Russellville.