Greenwood Teams Split Games To Open Classic
 Play Again On Friday Evening
12-10-09

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Greenwood teams split games in
opening round of Stewart Classic


By Richard White

The annual H. B. Stewart Classic basketball tournament got underway Thursday afternoon on the GHS campus in the arena named for the former GHS coach and athletic director. Besides the two squads from Greenwood, teams from Farmington, Ozark, and Poteau, OK are participating in the three-day event. There are four games slated for each day of the tournament with Greenwood teams playing in the last two games each evening starting at 7:00 and 8:30 p.m.

Thursday's early results included the Lady Hillbillies of Ozark defeating the Farmington girls, 58-44. But Farmington got revenge in the second contest, easily topping the Ozark boys, 82-48. Ozark will play Greenwood on Friday night, with Farmington and Greenwood slated for Saturday night.

Lady Bulldogs

Against Poteau on Thursday, the GHS girls took a big early lead and never relinquished it. With the Lady Pirates unable to score a field goal through the first eight minutes, the Lady Bulldogs built a 13-1 lead after one period. Poteau found the range in the second quarter, but still trailed 30-19 at the half. Greenwood narrowly won the third period 11-10, but doubled the Lady Pirates in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 20-point victory, 56-36.

Senior guard Lynsey Turner and sophomore forward Endsley Evans led the home team with 13 points each. Turner notched a trio of three-point baskets to account for most of her points. Sophomore guards Haley Donald and Allie Wilson also chipped in with eight points each coming off the bench.

Bulldogs - Pirates

The last game of the evening between the Greenwood and Poteau boys was much more competitive and required an extra period to decide the outcome. After falling behind 17-4 at the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs fought back to take a 45-44 advantage with two minutes left in regulation play. They got another big lift when senior guard Brandon Brewer nailed a trey with just over 10 seconds remaining to tie the game at 48. When neither team could score in the final seconds, the game went to overtime.

Cold shooting and turnovers plagued the Bulldogs through the first eight minutes, leaving them down by 13 points as the second period began. But Brewer's first three-point basket of the game jump-started the offense as the Bulldogs used the long ball to crawl back into the contest. Sophomore guard Hayden Smith hit a trey at the 5:50 mark to cut the Poteau lead to 21-12, and junior guard Shawn Hankins added another long distance bomb at the 4:36 mark to make the score 21-17. Oddly enough, those were the last points scored in the half, as both teams struggled to maintain possession of the ball and find the basket.

Senior forward Kyle Helms scored inside on a nice play to start the third quarter, pulling Greenwood to within a field goal at 21-19. But the Pirates played well in the period, holding off the charging Bulldogs and rebuilding their lead to 35-29 at the buzzer. Trailing 40-33 at the six minute mark of the final period, Greenwood had just enough left in the tank to mount one final surge. Junior guard Tony Sandifer hit a three-pointer to trim the deficit to 40-46, and a driving layup by Hayden Smith cut the lead to 42-38.

At the 2:40 mark Sandifer connected for a field goal, making the score 43-41, and seconds later Smith hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 43 all. After Poteau made a pair of free throws to take a 48-45 lead with 29 seconds left, the Pirates called a timeout to set up their defense. Still, they had no answer for Brewer's high arching shot from the top of the key at least a full step beyond the three-point line. The basket tied the game with 10 seconds left. After another timeout, the Pirates were called for traveling in the lane with two seconds remaining. Greenwood inbounded the ball and got a decent shot from Sandifer at the buzzer, but no points as the game headed into OT.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Poteau owned the extra period, outscoring Greenwood 13-8 to notch a 61-56 victory. Missed free throws and untimely turnovers proved to be the difference in the game for the Bulldogs. Smith and Brewer led the team in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Sandifer and Helms added nine points each and senior forward Spencer Harris accounted for six points.