In Feb. 12 Issue
By Derek Aaron
Times Journal Sports Editor

The Russell County Middle School’s 7th and 8th grade teams won their conference tournament titles on Tuesday night at RCMS.

The 8th grade Lakers, coached by Michael Carpenter and assisted by Gary Copley, defeated regular season runner-up Hart County 60-38.

The 8th grade team now has a 19-1 record on the year as they look toward the upcoming state tournament.

In the title game, the 8th grade Lakers were led in scoring by Garret Stephens with 14 points followed closely by Nick Britt with 13 points.

Both Lucas Whittle and Barton Mann each had 10 points for Russell County. Jalen Bennett scored seven points while Dustin Pierce scored four points and Chris Burchett had two points.

The 8th grade team won both the regular season and tournament Central Kentucky Middle School Athletic Conference titles.

Before defeating Hart County in tournament play, the 8th grade Lakers also downed Campbellsville 49-26 and Adair County 49-35 to get to the title game.

The 16-4 7th grade Lakers, also coached by Carpenter and Copley, defeated regular season champ Green County 21-18 to win the CKMSAC tournament title.

It was the first win in three tries for the Lakers over the Dragons this season.

Alex Turner led the way with six points while Blake Ellis scored five points. Brenan Coffey scored four points while Ben Bertram, Matt Adams and Brent Kimbler all scored two points.

The 7th graders defeated Campbellsville 49-18 and Adair County 35-28 to make it to the title game.

“These were two big wins for us tonight,” Carpenter said. “In the 7th grade game we played very hard.”

He said the close game showed his team’s toughness.

“In the 8th grade game we just came out and took care of business,” he said. “We have been undefeated in the conference the past two years and we’re looking forward to the state tournament.”