Bench, scoring runs lift Red Devils past Musketeers to close out district play

LLOYD — The Russell Red Devils got behind in the first quarter, but used two key scoring runs and some tough defense to post a 58-51 comeback win over the Greenup County Musketeers and wrap up regular season district play on Saturday afternoon at The Greenhouse.

Foul trouble and a sluggish start put the Devils in a hole early on, as they fell behind by 9 to their county rivals. But for Russell coach Derek Cooksey, he expected the Musketeers to come out swinging in their own gym.

"We told the kids before the game that Greenup's faced a tough stretch of games. This is their third-straight district game this week. We were pretty stagnant early on, pretty much not much movement and relied too much on our jump shot early on. I thought there in the third quarter I thought Jagger and Ryder really took what they were given and got downhill."

The foul trouble didn't start for Russell until the second quarter when Tyler Cordial picked up his second foul just 20 seconds into the frame and Taylor White picked up both of his fouls filling in for Cordial.

But the smaller lineup didn't seem to hurt the Devils, as they put together a 16-1 run over a 7 minutes span of the first half.

White would be the one to spark the run, pulling down a missed shot and going back up strong for his first two points of the game with 45 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The run carried over into the second quarter as Ryder Burgess scored on a drive along the baseline for a layup, Gabe Pridemore sank three free throws, Kaiden Benge hit a trey and hit two foul shots, and Pridemore scored on a driving layup.

Jagger Prickett finished the scoring run with a rebound on the defensive end and took it coast to coast to give Russell a 25-17 lead with 1:32 remaining before halftime.

Hunter Holbrook stopped the scoring drought for Greenup with a drive to the hoop for two on the ensuing possession.

Russell got another pair of free throws from Benge to finish off the half and Russell took a 27-22 lead into the locker room.

The Musketeers were able to swing the momentum back in their direction to begin the third and took their first lead since the 3:33 mark of the first quarter.

Kasey Gammon hit a 3-pointer to pull Greenup within one. Then on their next possession, Cameryn Chaffins sank two free throws to make it 32-31 with 4:11 remaining in the third.

The Musketeers would take their final lead of the game after Gammon buried a trey from the corner to make it 36-35 with 1:15 showing on the clock.

However, Burgess would answer on the other end with a turnaround fadeaway jumper and then grab his own missed shot and lay it back in the closing seconds to give Russell a 39-36 lead heading into the fourth.

Gammon would score on an off-balanced shot to begin the fourth, but the Red Devils (17-5, 5-1 district) would finally pull away with a 8-0 run.

Burgess would rifle in a 3-pointer and a free throw, and White scored twice down inside to lead the scoring charge.

Greenup wouldn't quite go away just yet, as Kieron Jenkins and Chaffins would hit 3-pointers to close the deficit to 49-46 with 1:26 remaining.

Needing to put the game away, Pridemore would drive the baseline with a layup and draw the foul. The junior converted his free throw to complete the 3-point play to give Russell a 54-48 cushion.

Greenup would be forced to foul and the Red Devils would convert their free throws to secure the win.

Cooksey felt that both Taylor White and Corbin McGrath contributed huge minutes off the bench. White finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds. McGrath was a key contributor during the 14-1 run on the defensive end.

"We had a nice rotation going tonight with seven guys. Tyler got in some foul trouble and Taylor White did a great job filling in tonight."

"Corbin is one of the best shooters in, but I'm the most proud of how he's come along defensively. I was really pleased with the minutes he gave us tonight."

The Red Devils were led in scoring by Burgess with 18 points and 4 rebounds. Benge added 11 points and a team-high 6 rebounds. Both Prickett and Pridemore each had 10 apiece, with Pridemore pulling down a team-high 6 boards and Prickett leading the team with 3 steals.

Greenup was paced by Gammon, who finished with a game-high 22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Chaffins also hit double figures with 10 points.

Russell will be back on the road on Tuesday against East Carter and Greenup County will entertain West Carter.

Russell  11 16 12 19 = 58

Greenup Co. 16 6 14 15 = 51

RUSSELL (17-5, 5-1): Gabe Pridemore 2 0 6-7 10, Jagger Prickett 4 0 2-2 10, Ryder Burgess 5 2 2-4 18, Kaiden Benge 2 1 4-6 11, Corbin McGrath 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor White 4 0 0-1 8, Tyler Cordial 0 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 3 15-22 58. Rebounds: (O-10, D-15) 28 (Pridemore 6, Benge 6, White 5). Assists: 6 (Prickett 4). Steals: 7 (Prickett 3, Pridemore 2, Benge 2). Blocks: 4 (Cordial 2, Burgess, White). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.

BOYD COUNTY (8-15, 0-6): Keiron Jenkins 1 2 0-0 8, Kasey Gammon 7 2 2-2 22, Kyler Robinson 0 0 0-0 0, Camryn Chaffins 1 1 5-7 10, Landry Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, Hunter Holbrook 3 0 0-0 6, Ryan Monroe 0 0 0-0 0, Bradley Adkins 1 0 0-2 2, Gavin Roy 1 0 1-2 3. Totals: 14 5 8-13 51. Rebounds: (O-3, D-19) 22 (Gammon 4,Adkins 4, Roy 4). Assists: 7 (Gammon 4). Steals: 5 (Gammon 4, Jenkins). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.