Basketball Recap: Russell County's Loss Ends Seven-Game Winning Streak at Home

Warriors

Previous 5 Games

12/14/24 vs Northside	55-65
12/10/24 vs Columbus	56-41
12/06/24 vs Smiths Station	59-52
12/05/24 vs Valley	60-52
12/03/24 @ Eufaula	68-52

After a string of four wins, Russell County's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They fell 65-55 to the Northside Patriots. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Warriors came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 104th in Alabama, while the Patriots are ranked 308th in Georgia).

Despite the defeat, Russell County had strong showings from Tamijay Mackey, who posted 18 points, and Kingston Henry, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards. Another player making a difference was Antonio Lockhart, who had four points and seven assists.

Even though they lost, Russell County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 12 offensive rebounds in three consecutive matchups.

Northside's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Xavier Davies, who put up 17 points in addition to seven steals and five assists. Davies has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last four times he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Cinque Hodge, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 11 boards.

Russell County's loss ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 8-3. As for Northside, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-5.

Russell County wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 58-51 win against Chattahoochee County on the 17th. As for Northside, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 66-30 defeat against Griffin on the 17th.