New head coach B. J. Ross and his Greenwood Bulldogs are set to open 5A West conference play Friday night at Russellville but may do so without three key players due to a rash of recent injuries. Already somewhat hampered by a dearth of games during December, Ross and his team faced brutal opposition in tournament play last week at Fort Smith Southside before a series of injuries potentially sidelined three players for the foreseeable future, all of them seniors.
But injuries are an unfortunate part of all sports, and the Bulldogs will have to battle through them like any other team. Different players will have to step up and fill in for their missing teammates and hopefully the injured players can return to action sooner rather than later. Among the wounded are Braden Bollman, Brady Mackey, and Jayden Garnes. That’s nearly half of the seven seniors on the roster and all three have been starters at times in early season play.
Bollman has a hand injury and Garnes a bum ankle, but both should return relatively soon. However, Mackey’s shoulder injury required a trip to the hospital and could keep him out of the lineup for a long time with the potential to end his season altogether. Mackey is one of the team’s best shooters and will certainly be missed. A basketball-only player, Bollman has been a mainstay from day one for Coach Ross, while Garnes has been both a starter and a strong presence off the bench so far this season. Their senior leadership on the floor will also be missed as the team opens conference play Friday night at Russellville. The Cyclones (15-1) are expected to be the team to beat in the 5A West this season.
Several new players reported for duty in early December after the Bulldogs won their 11th state championship in football, including junior starting point guard L. J. Robins, along with seniors Brady Mackey, Landon Nelms, Peyton Presson, and Brenden Chick, all of which made an immediate impact. But the schedule was such that the newcomers had only a handful of games to get in basketball shape against live competition. The GHS boys played just four varsity games in December, with three of those coming last week in the Coke Classic at Fort Smith Southside, all losses to quality teams.
Of course, the schedule was already set before Coach Ross was hired and one game against Springdale Har-Ber on December 8th was cancelled. The Bulldogs benefitted from the additional practice time, but there’s nothing like playing against a live opponent to test a team’s mettle and gives coaches a chance to evaluate talent. Coach Ross and assistant coach Dexter Pearcy are still learning what they have to work with, especially with some of the new players who came out after football.
“Five of our top seven players are from football,” said Ross in a recent interview. “We really needed some more games and we didn’t need to play Bryant in our first game. They’re the #1 team in the state. We would have liked to have a few more games, but it’s a process. I’ve told people this is not a quick fix. It’s a two or three year turnaround.
“We did get better in a lot of areas,” he continued. “We talked about getting better four minutes at a time. By day two [of the Coke Classic] we started playing really well against Southside. We had some good moments. We made more field goals than Southside, they just made more [three-pointers]. We made four threes and they made 10. We made 20 field goals and they made 18. All three teams we played were really good.”
The first four games of the season were played without the footballers, and the Bulldogs went 2-2 in November. That was followed by a long break before returning to live action against Fort Smith Southside in mid-December. They then had another long layoff until their post-Christmas tournament, again at Southside. They are now 2-6 overall but have shown promise at times, according to Coach Ross, before the injuries happened last week.
Pea Ridge
The Bulldogs’ season tipped off on November 6th at Pea Ridge in Northwest Arkansas, a 65-41 victory for the hometown Blackhawks, who dominated the first and third quarters to build a double-digit lead. Pea Ridge outscored Greenwood 18-7 over the first eight minutes before the Bulldogs got things going offensively. They finished the half trailing 36-24. But the home team had another dominant period coming out of the break, outscoring the opposition, 16-4, to lead 52-28 after three quarters. The two teams fought to a 13-13 draw over the final eight minutes.
Senior Braden Bollman led Greenwood in scoring with 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Junior Caleb Burnette added 12 points, all in the first half, while junior Lawson Cranor netted nine points.
Gravette
On November 9th the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs hosted Gravette in a benefit game at H.B. Stewart Arena and the Bulldogs came out on top, 62-50. The Lions won the first period, 14-11, but Greenwood won the remaining three to pull off the 12-point win. Ahead 26-23 at halftime, the GHS boys won the third quarter, 18-13, and the fourth, 17-14.
Once again it was Braden Bollman at the top of the offensive stats for Greenwood with a season-high 28 points, including seven of nine at the free throw line. Junior Lane Philpot chipped in with 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and senior Jayden Garnes added nine points. Caleb Burnette scored six points and Lawson Cranor had four points.
Clarksville
On November 13th the GHS boys opened play in the Clarksville Festival against the host Panthers, notching their second win of the season, 48-35. An official box score for the game was not available, but Greenwood scored 14 points in the opening period and had 24 points at the break. They added nine points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth.
The Bulldogs had four players score eight points or more in the contest, led by Braden Bollman with 18 points. Jayden Garnes added 11 points, Lane Philpot nine points, and Caleb Burnette eight points.
Dardanelle
Up next were the Sand Lizards of Dardanelle, a game Greenwood could have won, but didn’t, according to Coach Ross. The Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-2 lead after one quarter but gave back much of that margin in the second period and went into halftime ahead 16-14. By the end of the third quarter the game was tied 24-all, before Dardanelle outscored Greenwood 16-12 over the final eight minutes for the 40-36 win.
Caleb Burnette led the Bulldogs in scoring with 13 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Braden Bollman added seven points and Lane Philpot six points on a pair of treys. Jayden Garnes and sophomore Hudson Clark added five points each.
Nashville
On November 21st, just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the Bulldogs made the trip southward to Nashville for a junior varsity game, but the players were much the same for Greenwood with the football players still involved in the playoffs. Offensively, the ‘Dogs scored in double figures in all four quarters but allowed the Scrappers to score too many points in the first half, which made all the difference in the game’s outcome, a 59-51 Nashville victory.
Both teams were hot to start the game, combining for 38 points over the first eight minutes. Trailing 21-17 to start the second quarter, Greenwood cooled off a bit and trailed 39-27 at the intermission, a margin they could not overcome. The two teams were even in the third stanza, 11-all, and the Bulldogs rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring the home squad 13-9, but still came up short.
Jayden Garnes had a breakout game with 20 points to lead his GHS teammates in scoring. Braden Bollman kept up his offensive contributions with 13 points, followed by Caleb Burnette with nine points and Lane Philpot with seven points.
FS Southside
After their December 8th game with highly ranked Springdale Har-Ber was cancelled, it was nearly three weeks after their game at Nashville before the GHS varsity squad was back in action at Fort Smith Southside. Despite having limited practice time, the footballers were a welcome addition, and four of them scored at least eight points in the game, a 64-52 loss to the Class 6A Mavericks.
Southside took control of the game early, leading 21-11 after eight minutes and 38-23 at the half. The Bulldogs fought the home team to a draw in the third quarter, 18-18, before the Mavs coasted to a 12-point victory in the fourth quarter. Peyton Presson led the Bulldogs with 14 points, after shoulder surgery and a long rehab kept him sidelined for most of the gridiron season, returning just in time for the playoffs. He hit eight of 10 free throw attempts in the game. Fellow senior Brenden Chick added 13 points, while junior L.J. Robins and senior Landon Nelms scored eight points each.
Bryant
The Bulldogs then returned to the practice floor for two weeks including the Christmas holiday before participating in live competition on December 28th in the annual Coke Classic at Fort Smith Southside. Their first-round opponent was another 6A powerhouse in the Bryant Hornets, ranked among the top five teams in Arkansas all season.
The outcome was not pretty for the Bulldogs, who were blitzed by the Hornets in the first two quarters, 26-5 and 29-7, respectively. Trailing 55-12 at the half, Greenwood scored 12 and 13 points in each of the last two periods, eventually falling to Bryant, 86-37. L.J. Robins led the team in scoring with 11 points, followed by Landon Nelms with 10 points. Braden Bollman had six points, Brenden Chick four points, and Jayden Garnes and Caleb Burnette added three points each.
FS Southside
Greenwood’s next Coke Classic opponent was a familiar one, having played the Mavericks earlier in the month, but the outcome was similar, another Southside win, 62-46. The Mavs led 20-15 after eight minutes and maintained that lead at the half, 32-27. But any hope of Greenwood mounting a second half rally disappeared when the Southsiders won the third period, 20-12, to build a double-digit lead, 52-39. The Mavs added to their advantage in the fourth quarter, winning the period, 10-7.
Six Bulldogs scored at least three points or more in the contest, led by L.J. Robins with 17 and Peyton Presson with 10. Brenden Chick and Landon Nelms scored six points each, Braden Bollman added four points, and Brady Mackey scored three points.
Little Rock Hall
Greenwood’s final Coke Classic foe last week was the Warriors of Hall High School in Little Rock, a longtime traditional basketball power in the state. Diminished enrollment and reclassification has dropped Hall down to the ranks of Class 4A, but they still have a solid roundball program. Despite falling behind Greenwood by double digits at the end of the first period, the Warriors rallied to defeat the Bulldogs, 71-54.
In what Coach Ross hopes is a preview of things to come, his Bulldogs played brilliantly in the first eight minutes against Hall, outscoring the Warriors 25-15. But Hall reversed its fortunes in the second period, doubling up on the Bulldogs, 18-9, to trim the Warriors’ halftime deficit to just a point at 34-33. Hall then took control of the game with a strong third quarter (26-10) before closing out the win, outscoring Greenwood 12-10 over the final eight minutes.
“Against Little Rock Hall we had a 10-point lead and we were playing the way I envisioned we could play,” said Ross. “We’re doing some good things. We’re moving the ball and passing the ball. But in the second quarter we got into foul trouble. Braden Bollman and Peyton Presson both came out of the game and that hurt our scoring. At the end of the second quarter, Jayden Garnes popped his ankle. He may not play Friday against Russellville. Then in the third quarter Brady Mackey hurt his shoulder and they had to take him to the hospital. Then Bollman and Presson picked up their fourth fouls.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs did well with four players scoring nine or more points in the game. Peyton Presson led the way with 14 points, followed by Brady Mackey and Braden Bollman with 10 points each. Brenden Chick was right behind with nine points, while L.J. Robins had five points and Landon Nelms four points.
Comments
Coach Ross has been very pleased with the play of his newcomers so far, despite their short learning curve after football season. He pointed out that in their first game against Southside, four of his football players accounted for 43 of the team’s 52 points. “But let’s be honest,” he said. “We’re playing the top two teams in our conference right off the bat. The fact is that it’s going to be a process, and there are [conference] teams that we have a chance to beat, and there are others that we are going to have to play extremely well to beat. If we’re going to be hurt, let it be these first two games. Let’s get them out of the way and make sure we’re healthy going into some games that are very crucial. Let’s take care of the games we do have a chance to win. We’ve got to focus on getting better and take care of the games we’re supposed to.”
Schedule
The conference schedule is certainly not kind to the Bulldogs, facing their top two conference foes right off the bat. After playing at Russellville Friday night, they host Van Buren on Tuesday. The Cyclones and Pointers are thought to be the two best teams in the league this year, with Russellville a clear favorite to win the conference championship. The Bulldogs could be hampered by injuries to key players in those first two games.
“Russellville is the pre-season favorite to win our conference, and I know we won’t have Mackey, and I don’t think we will have Bollman. He had to have an x-ray yesterday on his hand, and we [likely] won’t have Garnes. So, we [could] be down three players Friday night. But one [player’s] misfortune is another player’s opportunity.”