The Russellville Panthers didn’t take it easy on their guests Tuesday. Coach Trey Tinsley’s team earned a running clock in the first half and crushed Trigg County 70-44 for their fifth win in seven games.
A lot was going on at RHS Tuesday, including a band show, an open house for the new Culinary Facility, and a meeting of the board of education. As a result, the basketball game was played at the smaller Stevenson Elementary School gymnasium.
Hitting 12 of 15 first-quarter shots (80 percent) in building a 26-9 lead. Russellville’s offense lived in the lane, outscoring the Wildcats 42-14 in the paint, according to Scott Brown of YourSportsEdge.com. Russellville hit 22 of 31 shots in the first half. The home team led 26-9 after a quarter and 51-15 at the half, the 36-point margin needed to get the running clock started.
For the game, the Panthers hit 21 of 31 two-point shots (67.7 percent) and 8 of 16 treys (50 percent). Jerius Coleman, who hit 6 of 10 from behind the arc, finishing with a team-high 22 points. The only other double-figure scorer was JaCoveon Temple-Dickerson with 10. Right behind was K’Vaundre Vanterpool with 9.
Ten Panthers scored. Joining the top three were Jamarion Gardner, Amarus Morrow, Mason Davenport, Labryan Nourse, Immanuel Clayton, Spencer Collier and Braxton Coleman.
Following is a look at the Panthers’ other four wins:
Panthers 69, Owensboro Knights Christian 66
In his first game ever as the RHS head coach, Tinsley used only six players. All of them scored against this homeschool squad.
Hitting 8 of 10 free throws, Gardner scored 22 points. Nourse and Jerius Coleman each added 14 with Vanterpool and Temple-Dickerson contributing 9 each and Braxton Coleman 1.
The Panthers struggled from long-range, hitting just 7 of 30 three-point attempts for 23.3 percent. Seventy percent free throw shooting (14 of 20) proved to be the difference.
Nourse was dominant with 13 rebounds. Jerius Coleman added 8 and Gardner 6.
Panthers 78, Warren East 57
A balanced scoring attack worked well for RHS. Temple-Dickerson scored 17, Nourse and Vanderpool 15 each, Gardner 9, Jerius Coleman 8, and Braxton Coleman and Clayton 7 each.
Nourse pulled down 15 rebounds and Vanterpool 9.
The Panthers hit 8 of 11 free throw attempts and 6 of 17 three-pointers. From closer range, the Panthers went 26 of 48 for 54.2 percent.
Miyan Reynolds led the Raiders with 17 points while Luke Barron chipped in 16.
Panthers 73, Crittenden County 29
Eleven Panthers scored in this blowout of another school which—like Trigg County—was in Russellville’s Class 1 A football district but became larger.
Temple-Dickerson led the way with 12 points while Vanderpool also hit double figures with 10. Eighth grader Darius Browder was next with 9, followed by Jerius Coleman and Gardner with 8 each, Nourse 6, Braxton Coleman 5, Mason Davenport 3, and Cam’ron Bertram and Immanuel Clayton 2 each.
Browder hit his only three-point attempt and Davenport and Braxton Coleman went one for two, but the rest of the team struggled from distance at 1 of 10. The Panthers, however, were 27 of 56 from short range for 48.2 percent.
Jerius Coleman had 7 rebounds and Nourse 5. In his varsity debut, Browder added 4 rebounds.
Panthers 49, Butler County 46
This was a home game this week on Monday, and the Panthers pulled out the close win.
Gardner was the scoring leader with 15 points and Jerius Coleman added 14. Then the totals dropped to three guys with 6 points each; they were Vanterpool, Temple-Dickerson and Morrow. Nourse accounted for the other 2-point bucket.
It was a cold-shooting night with the Panthers hitting 29.8 percent, including just 5 of 24 from three-point range.
On the other hand, all those missed shots led to lots of rebounds. Russellville was credited with 38 of them, including 13 by Gardner and 9 by Nourse.
Curtis Murphy led the Bears with 20 points. Carson Davis added 15 and Cooper Embry 11.