Russell Girls, Boys Fall in Amos Morris Classic Championships
Girls: Central Plains 66, Russell 21
Boys: Phillipsburg 41, Russell 40
For the first time since the year 2000, the Russell High School girls and boys basketball teams each played in the Amos Morris Classic basketball tournament championship games on Saturday, December 11 in Russell. Unfortunately, both of them lost and finished in the runner-up spot.
The Russell girls lost 66-21 to the number one ranked team in 1A Division II, the Central Plains Lady Oilers.
Central Plains led 22-8 after the first quarter, 39-11 at halftime, 58-16 after three periods and the entire fourth frame was played with a running clock due to the points spread.
Emerson Nichols led Russell with nine points and was six-of-six from the free throw line.
Brynna Hammeke led the Lady Oilers with 33 points and Kassidy Nixon followed with 10 points.
Central Plains forced 17 Russell turnovers and only committed five turnovers.
Central Plains also outrebounded Russell 19 to 16.
The Russell girls fall to 3-1 overall.
The boys championship game was much more competitive, with Phillipsburg defeating Russell 41-40 with a bucket at the final buzzer.
The Panthers led 11-7 after one period, but the Broncos finished the second quarter on a 10-2 run and led 28-16 at the break. Phillipsburg pulled back to within a 37-29 deficit to Russell after three stanzas. The Broncos led 40-35 in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers ended the game on a 6-0 run, including a buzzer-beating layup by Rad Rodriguez, to escape with the win over Russell.
Jackson Cross paced Russell with a career-high-tying 16 points and three key three-pointers. Josh Sohm scored eight points.
Joel Ford led Phillipsburg with 11 points. Rodriguez scored 10 points.
Russell outrebounded Phillipsburg 31 to 24 and eight to six on the offensive glass.
The Broncos turned the ball over 20 times compared to Phillipsburg's 16 turnovers.
The Russell boys fall to 2-1 overall.
The runner-up position is the best finish for the Russell girls since they lost to Central Plains in the 2017 title game and the best finish for the Russell boys since they won the tournament in 2008.
Next up, the Russell girls and boys basketball teams host Pratt on Tuesday, December 14 at Amos Morris Gym in Russell. Catch both varsity games on KRSL AM 990, 98.1 FM and KRSL.com with the girls at 6 PM and the boys following.
(Photos courtesy Jason Drake.)
