Eagles, Lady Eagles win Shelbyville Tournament
Varsity boys also win 'Rusk supremacy' over West Rusk; girls snap 5-game losing streak with tourney wins
BY QUINTEN BOYD

l The Rusk varsity boys basketball team poses with their trophies after the Shelbyville Tournament. Both they and the varsity girls picked up titles. With the wins, the boys are 7-1 and the girls are 4-6 on the season.

A common misconception about the city of Rusk is that it is located within Rusk County. It isn't, but the Raiders of West Rusk High School do make their home in Rusk County.

Last Tuesday night, the Eagles and Raiders played for what could be considered the Rusk supremacy.

A stalwart defensive effort led the Eagles to a 13-point victory, 60-47, to move to 3-1 on their young season.

The Raiders had no answer for a stifling press defense, turning the ball over 42 times. The Eagles stole the ball from West Rusk 29 times.

Rusk Head Coach Tracy Kincade delivered what could be considered an understatement.

"When you have numbers like that, it means that we're doing something okay," he said.

"Okay" for Rusk also included 31 rebounds and 13 assists as well as a balanced stat sheet. Michael Katon led the Eagles with 14 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Cornellous Lewis added 12 points and five steals and Kalen Skinner added 10 points and five steals.

Cody Baker led the Raiders with 11 points and Dominique Smith added nine.

Several Eagle players got involved in the scoring, with four other Eagles finding their way to the stat sheet.

"Our motto this year is 'team'," Coach Kincade said. "I don't care who scores or how many points they have as long as we get the best available shot."

Freshmen and JV win big

The Rusk freshmen team picked up their second win in three games when they defeated the Raiders, 41-21. Michael Pyle led the Eagles with 11 points. Austin Gipson and Tyler Daniels each added eight.

The JV Eagles also picked up a victory over West Rusk, 53-41. Rusk rode a 31-14 first half lead to a victory, led by Ray Harris' 14 points and Delshon Session's 11 points.

Girls drop 5th in a row

The Rusk Lady Eagles lost to their southern neighbors in Alto just before Thanksgiving and, last Tuesday, fell to their northern neighbors when the Jacksonville Fightin' Maidens defeated the Lady Eagles, 51-30.

Charnell Franklin led the Lady Eagles with 13 points. Jasmine Harris added eight.

For the Maidens, Mykeshia Burrell scored 15 points. Sharae Sanders added eight and Amber Hawkins contributed seven points.

Eagles, Lady Eagles win titles

The varsity Eagles and Lady Eagles traveled to Shelbyville to take part in the Shelbyville Tournament, part of a tournament field that included Shelbyville, Jasper's JV team, Timpson, Karnack, Waskom and Grand Cane (La.)

The Eagles opened tourney play against the Jasper JV on Thursday, cruising to a 102-40 victory. While happy with the win, Coach Kincade understands that there are still more games left in the season.

"We are looking good and exciting at this point in the season, but we must keep progressing," he said. "We played well and we must continue to get better."

The Eagles also experienced what Coach Kincade called "a coach's dream" when every player on the team scored, led by Lewis and his 26 points. Skinner added 13 points while DeMario Richards and Derrick Sanders scored 11. John David Beard added 10 points.

The Eagles took on Karnack in their second game of the tournament, picking up a 64- 47 victory over the Indians. Katon led Rusk with 22 points followed by Skinner's 11.

The host Shelbyville Dragons gave Rusk a scare, but the Eagles held on for a sevenpoint victory, 64-57. Lewis and Katon led the way as Lewis scored 18 points and Katon notched 16. Beard added 11 as Rusk advanced to the final against Timpson.

Rusk started and finished fast against the Bears, defeating Timpson 71-38 to pick up the tournament trophy. Katon (18) and Lewis (17) again led the team in scoring.

"These are all good wins for us and we are playing well at this point in the season," Coach Kincade said.

The Lady Eagles won their first games of the season, defeating Grand Cane (47-29), Karnack (53-22), Shelbyville (58-32) and Timpson (50-15).

Rusk clinched the title against Shelbyville behind LeAsha O'Neal's 22 points and Harris' 17.

The Lady Eagles would lose one game against West Sabine, who did not take part in the tourney. Franklin notched 22 points and 11 rebounds.