RUSSELLVILLE—The Russellville offense struggled at times against Allen County-Scottsville on Friday night, but the Panthers were able to counteract that lackluster offensive performance with a defensive showcase.
The Panthers unleashed a full-court press early and often and extended their man-to-man pressure all the way out the few times the Patriots had a chance to settle down in the half court, and Russellville forced ACS to commit 29 turnovers—including 19 in the first half—to grind out a hard-earned 53-45 victory in Coach Rex Booth’s first game as Panthers’ head man.
“Defensively I thought we were really good,” Booth said. “29 to six: there’s the difference in the game. We held (ACS junior Brett Rippy) scoreless in the first half so that was huge for us. He’s an outstanding guard.”
The Panthers (1-0) led 22-12 at halftime before the Patriots rallied to cut the deficit to 26-24 during the third quarter.
Russellville extended its lead back to 33-26 before Rippy drew a foul on a three-pointer on the last play of the quarter, knocking down two-of-three foul shots to make it 33-28 going into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers built their lead to six after a three-point play by senior Devin Quarles with 6:25 to play, but the Patriots were far from finished.
ACS senior Marcus Carter answered right back with a three-point play of his own on the ensuing possession, and the Patriots tied it up at 40 all when Carter cut back door and received the pass from Rippy to score the game-tying bucket with 4:27 to go.
Russellville scored five unanswered points over the next couple minutes before ACS junior Cayden Ross converted a three-point play to make it 45-43 with 1:43 left in regulation.
But the Patriots would not get any closer the rest of the way, and the Panthers knocked down seven-of-eight free throw attempts in the final 1:06 to seal the victory.
Russellville was led by senior Jacob Naylor and freshman Anthony Woodward, who each poured in 12 points in the victory. The Panthers also saw a solid game from Akeem Dukes, as the senior scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Allen County-Scottsville (1-1) was led in the loss by Rippy with 10 points—six of them coming in the fourth quarter. Carter finished with nine points and five rebounds, while senior Sam Clarke chalked up eight points.
Even though his Patriots came up short, ACS coach Nick Chaykowsky was proud of the fight that his team showed.
“We showed a lot of grit,” Chaykowsky said. “We showed a lot of character. To be handcuffed like we were and to tie it up at 40-40…we just have to know how to take that next step, and it’s all about the process of getting better.”
Booth also said that are some things that his Panthers need to correct going forward.
“You saw inexperience tonight,” Booth said. “A lot of terrible shots that we took throughout the game. Earlier in the year I said that we needed to have growth, and that’s where we need to have growth in.”
The Panthers will look to have that growth on the road at Warren East on Tuesday evening, as Booth will face off against Charles Combs—a coach that he was once an assistant for.
“Warren East is a good basketball team,” Booth said. “They are completely different from Allen County because (ACS) plays a slow-it- down style of play. Warren East is a lot like us and likes to get up and down.”
Meanwhile, Allen County-Scottsville will have a 15th District showdown with Barren County on Tuesday night.
