The Red Bay High School varsity boys’ basketball team, ranked No. 9 in Class 2A in the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, earned another local title on its home court on Saturday night, winning the 2025 Franklin County Tournament by beating Phil Campbell in the championship game. The victory gave the Tigers county bragging rights for the third straight season.
“I think it means a lot to the kids,” Red Bay head coach John Torisky said. “There’s just natural rivalries in the county because of all the other sports, so I think for our guys to get a championship among some of their friends and guys they grew up playing against, it always means a lot.
“There’s a lot of tradition in the county tournament, as well,” he added. “It’s always good to win a championship; it doesn’t matter if it’s county or area or what, so the kids were excited about it, for sure.”
The Franklin County Tournament began last Tuesday, January 14, but the Tigers opened their tourney on Thursday against the Vina Red Devils, who beat the Tharptown Wildcats to advance to the semifinal round.
Red Bay took care of business against Vina, beating the Class 1A Red Devils 74-30, but Torisky said he was impressed by the determination of RBHS’ opponents.
“I thought they played really hard,” Torisky said of Vina, which was led by 13 points from senior Christian McCarley. “This was a team that didn’t give up even when we made some shots early and played really well. They kept fighting.”
RBHS was led by Landyn Lewey, who topped all scorers with 14 total points. No Tigers were left out of the action, though, as all 11 Red Bay players scored at least two points in the win.
In the county final, Red Bay faced off against Phil Campbell, who defeated Belgreen to advance to the championship round.
The first quarter of the game was played fairly evenly as Red Bay edged out the Bobcats 10-9 through the first eight minutes. But the hosts took firm hold of the game in the second quarter, outscoring PCHS 20-8 to take a 30-17 lead into the intermission.
Coming out of the break, the third period belonged to the Tigers, as well. The hosts outscored Phil Cambell 18-12 to take a 48-29 lead into the final eight minutes. That 19-point advantage proved enough cushion to carry the Tigers to the end even though the Bobcats, who scored 21 points in the fourth, were able to cut into the margin.
PCHS sophomore Austin Elliott led all scorers with 22 points in the contest, but Red Bay had three players hit double digits: Khalil Luster led the Tigers with 14 points, Bryant Harris scored 12, and Brayden Tabbs dropped 10 points.
Torisky said his team played well offensively and there were players with key individual performances in both tournament games as Red Bay pushed for the title.
“I felt our kids really shot well the last two games. In the championship we had 14 threes which I think is the highest for us this season,” Torisky said. “We worry about the things we have to do to be successful. I thought we rebounded well and defended well both games—and we made shots, which always helps.
“One of our strengths is we’re really balanced,” he added. “Khalil (Luster), obviously, is a force down low. He’s averaging almost 18, 19 points a game, so he’s an emphasis for other teams. The way our offense is set up we take advantage of that by having other guys around him that can shoot.
“Jaxon Vinson had two really good games down low, just getting on the glass and being really aggressive and strong. Bryant Harris had a big game for us in the championship; he hit about four threes. So, what I really like about our team is it’s really hard to single in on one guy, and I think that’s what makes us hard to beat.”
After winning a third consecutive Franklin County championship, Red Bay will turn its attention back to area and potential postseason play. Torisky is optimistic the county crown will provide a late-season boost for his squad as they enter those all-important final games.
“Anytime you can win something that has meaning to it like a championship game, where there’s a little more stress and pressure on you, it allows the kids to feel that success and hopefully that carries over,” Torisky said. “We’ve got some big games coming up, so hopefully that county championship will give some of the guys a little confidence that is needed for this group.
“We’re playing pretty good right now and I think we can still play even better,” he added.
“Our guys are doing what they need to do at this point in the year, and they’re starting to figure out their roles. We’ve got a lot of talent on this team, so it’s all just about getting better as a whole.”
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