HALEYVILLE - Jarad Brimer scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the second half on Thursday night, helping Class 4A No. 9 Haleyville hold off Russellville for a 65-59 win.
The Golden Tigers (1-2) went scoreless for the game’s first five-plus minutes as the Lions (5-1) raced out to an early 15-0 lead. Lucas McNutt got Russellville on the board with a three-point play at the 2:30 mark, and then Houston Kitterman and Logan Jones each knocked down a three to help the Golden Tigers cut the lead to 20-9 by the end of the first quarter.
Brimer, a senior point guard, scored seven points in the second quarter, and Rob Richards added five to help Haleyville take a 42-26 lead into the locker room.
Russellville played most of the first half without junior guard Devin Buckhalter, who picked up two early fouls in the first quarter. He returned to the game in the second quarter but was whistled for his third foul late in the half and then got hit with a technical (and his fourth personal foul) for protesting the call.
Buckhalter, the team’s leading returning scorer from last season, eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter, finishing the night with four points.
The Golden Tigers hung around throughout most of the third quarter, but Brimer sparked a late run to help Haleyville take a 55-35 lead into the fourth. The Lions were still up 18 with roughly three minutes to go, but Russellville made things interesting down the stretch, closing the game on a 12-0 run and threatening to get even closer before ultimately taking their second straight loss.
McNutt, a junior guard, finished with 15 points to lead Russellville. He went 7-for-7 from the foul line and has now made 24 consecutive free throws dating back to the third quarter of the season opener at Colbert County. McNutt is shooting 96 percent (26-for-27) from the line on the year and averaging a team-best 19.0 points per game.
The AHSAA record for consecutive free throws made is 58 by Victor Newman of Houston Academy over a seven-game stretch in the 1987-88 season.
Jones, a senior, added a career-high 13 points for the Golden Tigers on Thursday. Kitterman and Caden Parker each had eight, and Calen Bragwell scored six. Chandler Dyas finished with five points on 5-for-6 shooting from the line. Russellville shot 22-for-24 from the line as a team.
Logan Dye, a 6’9 senior center and a Samford commit, finished with 12 points for Haleyville, adding half a dozen blocked shots. Ben Lowman scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, and Richards added nine points.
Russellville will return to action tonight with a game at Winfield.
Varsity girls
Haleyville 50 Russellville 47
Alli Temple scored 12 points for Haleyville on Thursday, and Reagan Kutis knocked down a big shot in the final minute to help the Lady Lions hold on for their second win of the season.
Down by three with less than a minute remaining, Russellville (1-6) cut the lead to one when Autumn Logan scored in the paint off a nice feed from Madison Murray. Logan was fouled on the play but couldn’t convert the and-one opportunity, and the Lady Golden Tigers still trailed by a point.
A rare make at the foul line by Haleyville on the other end pushed the lead to two, and then Russellville committed a costly turnover. Kutis, a sophomore guard, buried a 19-footer from the top of the key with 30 seconds left to extend the lead to four, and the Lady Lions (2-4) held on.
The two teams combined to miss 43 free throws on the night, with Haleyville shooting just 10-for-36 from the line and Russellville finishing 8-for-25.
Murray led the Lady Golden Tigers with 14 points, reaching double-figures for the sixth time in seven games. Freshman Treyvia Pruitt knocked down a pair of threes and finished with 13 points. Logan added eight, and Madison Hargett scored five. A.J. Taylor finished with four points, and Fallin Cox had three.
Kutis and Kaleigh White each had eight points for Haleyville.
Russellville will look to snap a three-game losing streak at Winfield tonight.