The Greenwood Bulldogs are in the midst of a tough stretch. After starting the season with a 3-3 record, the GHS boys find themselves losers of eight straight games as they prepare to open the 6A/5A West conference schedule this week with road games at Alma and Clarksville.
To further complicate matters, the team also recently lost its starting post player, dismissed from the squad for a violation of team rules. His departure makes the height-challenged Bulldogs even more heavily dependent on guard play.
But while Head Coach Greg Nichols may be frustrated with recent events, he is still hopeful that his team can make a strong run at a 6A post-season berth. Greenwood is competing with fellow league members Siloam Springs and Russellville for those coveted playoff spots.
"We've just got to keep working," said Nichols in a recent interview during the holiday break. "The players are working hard. We just have mental breakdowns. We'll go four or five possessions where we don't score, or we'll have a turnover, and whenever we do that the other team seems to capitalize on it. And then we have to come back and try to catch up, and that makes it extremely tough.
"I do believe our defense is getting better," said the coach. "It's not where we want it to be yet, but it is getting better. With conference play starting, hopefully it will shine a lot more.
"In the 5A/6A blended, the 5A teams are probably going to be the toughest ones," he continued. "We've got Harrison, Farmington, and Clarksville that are very good teams, and throw in Alma, and they're good. The 6A teams are probably pretty even.
"I think we can beat Siloam and play with them, and Russellville is the same way. The two 6A schools are the teams that we need to beat, and I think we're okay there. We want to beat all of the 5A schools that we can, just to help us in seeding for the conference tournament. But the two 6A schools are on the top of our priority list right now," said Nichols.
Most recently the Bulldogs traveled to Siloam Springs for a three-day tournament after Christmas. Prior to that the team played both Rogers' high schools before the holiday.
Rogers Heritage
After falling at home to Rogers High School on December 20th, the Bulldogs played a competitive first half on the road against the War Eagles of Rogers Heritage two days later, trailing 27-24 at the intermission. But a 21-10 Heritage scoring advantage in the third quarter was the difference in the game as Greenwood fell, 61-44.
No GHS player reached double digits in scoring, though the team got points from several different players. Trevor Loveday led the way with nine points, followed by sophomore Peyton Holt and junior Jordan Sheppard with seven points each, and senior Devin Gilbert with six points.
Siloam Springs
On Wednesday, December 28th, the 'Dogs opened play in the Siloam Springs tournament against the Zebras from Claremore, Oklahoma. Greenwood led 5-4 in a low-scoring first quarter, but trailed 24-16 at the half as Claremore stroked the net for 20 second period points.
The Bulldogs scored better in the second half as both teams played well offensively, but the Zebras got the best of it, outpacing the 'Dogs 19-16 and 18-16 over the last two quarters for a 61-48 win.
Gilbert led the scoring for Greenwood with 12 points, followed by Sheppard with 11, the only two GHS players in double figures. Sophomore guard Trey Woods added seven points, senior guard Alec Armstrong contributed six points, and Peyton Holt added five.
The following day the Bulldogs faced Class 7A Springdale for the second time this season, and once again Greenwood held a slight lead after eight minutes, 7-6. But a huge second quarter (21 points) gave Springdale a double digit halftime lead, 27-15.
The 'Dogs rallied in the second half, outscoring Springdale 12-10 and 18-15 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 52-45 loss.
Jordan Sheppard had a nice game for Greenwood with 19 points, followed by junior guard Ronin Stewart with eight points and junior guard Zane Harmon with seven.
The tournament finale for Greenwood was against the host Panthers of Siloam Springs, both teams battling for seventh place in an 11 a.m. game. Perhaps it was the early hour, but the Bulldogs were outplayed in the first half and trailed 34-15 at the break.
But in the second half the team stirred to life offensively, doubling Siloam Springs in the third quarter, 18-9, to make the score more respectable. The Panthers held on to win, 57-46.
Sheppard led the team offensively with 11 points. Alec Armstrong added nine points, as did Peyton Holt, while Devin Gilbert contributed six points.
Coach Nichols gave his players a couple of days off for the New Year's holiday before returning to the practice floor this past Monday prior to Tuesday's conference opener at Alma.