Freshman guard Beau Bryant had 18 points, leading Russellville to a 64-52 victory over Prairie Home in a boys basketball game Friday night.
Senior forward Levi Anderson finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three steals for the host Indians, while senior guard Coy Bond added 16 points and seven rebounds. Russellville, which won only two games all last season, improved to 7-9 after Friday's win.
"It's a building process," Indians head coach Zane Garr said. "Being 7-9 feels better than 6-10, obviously. Our boys are good and can be competitive. We have to come ready to play every night."
Prairie Home senior forward Sam Distler had 17 points and sophomore guard Ross Kendrick scored 12. The Panthers' record was 7-7 following the loss.
"We're making strides," Prairie Home head coach Dalton Armontrout said. "We're having great practices, and the kids are finally coming to terms with how I want things. We just have to learn how to finish games."
Although the Indians have struggled early in some games this season, they raced to a 12-4 lead against Prairie Home.
"We've been trying to get our boys more motivated to start," Garr said. "I had three goals for them: win the first quarter, the third quarter and the first four minutes of the fourth quarter."
To their credit, the Panthers never quit battling, getting within one point numerous times in the second half. The Indians, however, responded each time and never relinquished their lead.
"We're not used to this type of environment," Armontrout said. "Once our guys settled down, they found their groove and got into Prairie Home basketball. We fought hard and showed heart. It's just a matter of finishing games."
The Panthers cut the deficit to 40-38 on Kendrick's layup early in the fourth quarter, but Russellville scored the next six points to regain command. Bond had a layup, and Anderson and senior Zach Voss each hit a pair of free throws.
Prairie Home stayed close, though, getting within 49-45 with 4 minutes left. Again, the Indians answered with a 6-0 run, pushing the lead back to 55-45 with 2:03 left.
"They are a very good team," Garr said. "I expected a close game, but our kids continued to fight. It was a quality win."