Russellville varsity basketball teams swept by Deshler in MLK Day doubleheader

In a Martin Luther King Jr. Day doubleheader Monday, the Russellville High School varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were swept by Deshler High School at the Russellville Middle School gymnasium.

Russellville’s boys fell to Deshler 69-59 while the RHS girls were dropped by a final score of 91-59.

The afternoon slate of games began with the Russellville boys playing a pretty competitive contest against Deshler. The visiting Tigers beat RHS by 10 points Monday, the same margin of defeat the Golden Tigers suffered in the previous meeting in Tuscumbia on December 4.

Deshler went on a 13-0 run to start the game, forcing an RHS timeout with 3:59 to go in the first period. Sir Williams, who finished with 19 points, hit the first basket for Russellville with 2:56 remaining in the opening quarter.

Down 19-9 after the first, the Golden Tigers finally found a foothold in the game early in the second, going on a 10-3 run to pull within three points with 5:05 to go in the first half. At the break, Russellville trailed 30-25.

In the second half, the Golden Tigers continued to play it close with Deshler which led by six points at the end the third, 45-39. In the fourth, however, Deshler was able to create just a little more separation and pull out a 69-59 victory.

The result drops Russellville’s boys to 4-16 for the year.

Up next it was the Lady Golden Tigers’ turn to take on the visitors. Deshler, the No. 2 team in Class 4A with a 20-3 record coming in, had its hands full with the hosts in the first 16 minutes but managed to pull away quickly in the second half.

The lead changed hands multiple times in what proved to be a first half shootout between the two squads. For Deshler it was Ole Miss commit, junior Reece Davis, leading the way for the Lady Tigers; she scored 28 of DHS’ 48 points in the first half. Russellville junior Ella Copeland also had a big half, dropping 19 points in the first 16 minutes as the Lady Golden Tigers trailed by six, 48-42, at the break.

Unfortunately for the hosts, coming out of the locker room for the second half, Russellville saw its deficit quickly balloon from six points to 12 and then 16. Deshler’s hot shooting continued after the intermission, but the Lady Golden Tigers failed to see their shots fall like they did in the first half.

Midway through the third quarter Deshler led by 19 points; going into the fourth quarter the Lady Tigers had expanded their advantage to 23 points, the score 79-56. At the final buzzer, Russellville trailed by 32 points, 91-59. The loss dropped the Lady Golden Tigers’ record to 12-10 overall this campaign.

Deshler’s Davis finished as the game’s top scorer, dropping 44 points on RHS.

Russellville’s Copeland ended the contest with a team-best 31 points; it was Copeland’s third game with 30 or more points this season. The junior guard is averaging 24.6 points per game. Angeleah Smith added 14 points for the Lady Golden Tigers.

Both RHS teams will host Florence for their next games on Tuesday, January 20, before traveling to Lawrence County on Thursday, January 22, to wrap up regular season area play.