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NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Logan County fans yell at Russellville player, Barrett Croslin, during the third place game of the FSNB Christmas Classic on Saturday.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Barrett Croslin shoots a lay-up during the third place game on Saturday. The Panthers finished in third place after beating the Logan County Cougars 80-66 in the FSNB Christmas Classic.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Tacorian Darden shoots a lay-up for the Panthers during the third place game on Saturday. The Panthers finished in third place after beating the Logan County Cougars 80-66 in the FSNB Christmas Classic.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Darrian Quarles shoots a lay-up for the Panthers during the third place game on Saturday. The Panthers finished in third place after beating the Logan County Cougars 80-66 in the FSNB Christmas Classic.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Ben Wright shoots a three-point shot during the third place game against the Russellville Panthers. The Cougars finished in fourth place of the FSNB Christmas Classic after falling 66-80 to the Panthers.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Landon Stratton shoots a three-point shot during the third place game against the Russellville Panthers. The Cougars finished in fourth place of the FSNB Christmas Classic after falling 66-80 to the Panthers.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Ben Wright shoots a lay-up but is blocked by Panther Jordan Kennedy during the third place game against the Russellville Panthers. The Cougars finished in fourth place of the FSNB Christmas Classic after falling 66-80 to the Panthers.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Tacorian Darden shoots a three-point shot for the Panthers during the third place game on Saturday. The Panthers finished in third place after beating the Logan County Cougars 80-66 in the FSNB Christmas Classic.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Christian Naylor shoots a jump shot for the Panthers during the third place game on Saturday. The Panthers finished in third place after beating the Logan County Cougars 80-66 in the FSNB Christmas Classic.

NDL Photo/Crystin Faenza Russellville fans celebrate the Panther win over the Logan County Cougars on Saturday. The Panthers beat the Cougars 80-66 during the third place game of the FSNB Christmas Classic.

The cross town rivals, the Russellville Panthers and the Logan County Cougars, went head to head in the First Southern National Bank Christmas Classic basketball tournament on Saturday night in the third place game.

Even though the game was close, the Panthers ended the game with a win of 80-66.

The first quarter started off good for the Panthers as they led 24-17 going into the second quarter. With a last second three-point shot by Barrett Croslin, the Panthers finished the first half up nine points with a score of 42-33.

The Cougars came back out on the court and played a huge third quarter. The Cougars scored 26 points which put them in the lead of 59-58 heading into the final quarter.

The Panther defense was able to shut down the Cougars, letting them only score seven points in the fourth quarter. The Panthers finished strong with a 80-66 win to take the third place finish in the FSNB Christmas Classic.

Tacorian Darden led the Panthers with 22 points on Saturday. Jordan Kennedy finished the game with 19 points, Christian Naylor with 13 points, and Barrett Croslin with 10 points.

“I think we’ve played pretty good ball for most of the tournament. We got all we wanted out of this game tonight. I think we played a little selfish in the first half but in the second half they played good offense and got some good shots,” said head coach Phil Todd.

For the Cougars, Ben Wright led with 23 points. Landon Stratton finished with 21 points and Torin Graham with nine points for the Cougars.

“We played three good teams in this tournament. My team needed these close games to figure out where we stand,” said head coach Lonnie Mason. “We’re growing and getting better. We have a lot of young players and make mistakes but we are working on fixing it as a team.”

Tonight the Panthers and Cougars will face each other again in the Clash of the Cats game held at Russellville High School.