The basketball regular season is winding down, with the final regular season games for Russell County being scheduled a week from Friday on Feb. 18.
After that, the Lakers and Lady Lakers will prepare for the 16th District Tournament, being hosted by Clinton County this year. Dates for the district tournament haven’t been released yet.
But as the season winds down, where do things stand in the 16th District for Russell County?
On the boys side, things are set. The Lakers will enter as the #4 seed, last in the district with an 0-6 record. That means they’ll take on the host Clinton County Bulldogs in the first round, needing to pull an upset to keep their season alive. The Bulldogs, the preseason district favorite, enter with a record of 17-6, along with a 6-1 district record.
The Lakers are 0-2 against the Bulldogs this season. In the first game at Laker Gym back on Dec. 17, the game went down to the wire with the Bulldogs coming away with a 51-45 win.
When the Lakers traveled to Albany, they were defeated 57-46.
In the 2-3 game, the 2-seed Metcalfe County Hornets will take on the 3-seed Cumberland County Panthers.
On the girls side, things are a lot less settled.
Only one spot is clinched, with the Metcalfe County Lady Hornets securing the top seed in the district tournament. The Lady Hornets are currently undefeated in district play. The Lady Hornets will have a chance to go 6-0 in district when they play the Lady Lakers tonight. The Lady Hornets defeated the Lady Lakers in Edmonton back on Dec. 14 by a score of 51-29.
Regardless of the result, the Lady Hornets will be the 1-seed for the district tournament. As for the remaining spots, things hinge on the result of the Lady Lakers vs. Lady Hornets game.
If Russell County pulls the upset, the Lady Lakers will secure the 2-seed with a 3-3 district record.
If Metcalfe County wins, Russell County, Cumberland County, and Clinton County will fall into a 3-way tie, each with a district record of 2-4 and each team having a 1-1 record against the others.
The Lady Lakers split their matchups with Cumberland and Clinton counties.
On Jan. 20, the Lady Lakers defeated Clinton County in Albany by a score of 62-51. The Lady Bulldogs, however, defeated Russell County at Laker Gym on Feb. 4 by a score of 59-41.
The Lady Lakers took the first matchup over the Cumberland County Lady Panthers in Burkesville by a score of 51-39 back on Jan. 24 while the Lady Panthers came away with a win in the rematch at Laker Gym last night.
According to Russell County High School Athletics Director Michael Carpenter, a 3-way tie will be settled with a drawing to determine district tournament seeds.
Based on the plan, Clinton County would draw first as the host school to determine their seed, followed by Russell County based on the hosting schedule and then Cumberland County since they hosted the district tournament last year.
Carpenter told WJRS Sports that the 16th District Athletic Directors will hold their district tournament meeting on Wednesday. We’ll post details from the meeting when they’re available.
