Both Greenwood High School basketball teams were in fine form last week as they took down conference opponents Siloam Springs on the road and Greenbrier at home, clinching playoff berths for both the GHS girls and boys. As of this writing, two games remain on the regular season and league schedule, Tuesday, February 21st on the road at Huntsville, and Friday, February 24th at home against Morrilton. Both games are very important to the Bulldogs, who are still fighting to earn the second seed playoff spot from the 5A West. The Lady Bulldogs have already clinched the league’s top spot, but are still hoping to close out the conference season undefeated.
Greenwood At Siloam Springs
The state’s top-ranked 5A girls team needed the first quarter to get their legs under them last Tuesday night at Siloam Springs. But after trailing 13-11 through eight minutes, the Lady Bulldogs exploded both offensively and defensively in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Panthers 26-8 on their way to a 37-21 halftime advantage. As usual, Greenwood’s pressure defense forced numerous Siloam Springs’ turnovers, which led to several easy baskets for the GHS girls.
Greenwood dialed things back in the second half, scoring 11 points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth period. Siloam Springs managed just five points in the third stanza, and trailed 48-26 going into the final eight minutes. Greenwood head coach Clay Reeves substituted liberally in the final minutes of the game, which allowed the Lady Panthers to net 22 points, making the final score a little more respectable. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Bulldogs walked away with a 63-48 victory.
Sophomore point guard Lundon Williams led the scoring for Greenwood with 21 points. Williams was also a key player in executing the press on defense, converting several steals and turnovers into easy points. Two other GHS players reached double figures in scoring. Juniors Allie Barnes and Sammy Richards both contributed 10 points each in the winning effort. The victory was the 20th on the season for the Greenwood girls (20-4) and their 11th in conference play against zero losses.
In the boys’ contest, Greenwood avenged an earlier home loss to the Panthers and continued their own second half surge through the conference schedule. The 63-52 victory was the fourth consecutive win in 5A West play and pushed the ‘Dogs even further ahead of the Panthers in the league standings behind Alma and Morrilton. The game was close, but the Bulldogs got consistent play throughout the contest on both ends of the court, scoring in double figures in all four periods before putting the game away in the final minutes.
The Bulldogs led 13-12 after eight minutes and had only a slightly wider margin at the half, 25-21. A balanced scoring attack kept up the pressure offensively as the two teams slugged it out in the third period, with Siloam Springs winning the battle by a 17-16 margin on the strength of a long, desperation three-point bank shot at the buzzer. Leading 41-38 as the final stanza began, the Bulldogs attacked the rim aggressively, taking the ball into the paint and scoring inside, while getting fouled and making enough free throws down the stretch to outscore Siloam Springs 22-14 and notch a 63-52 win. But for the game, the Bulldogs were only 11 of 20 at the line, an area where head coach Brian Martin admits that he wants to improvement.
Senior guard Ryan Lensing led the scoring for the visitors with 15 points. Junior guards Drew Morgan and Colton McEvoy both contributed 12 points, while senior Adam Lucas and juniors Ethan Clark, Cole McAllister, and Drew Caple all scored six points each. The win moved the Bulldogs to 18-7 overall this season and 8-3 in conference play. It was also their fourth consecutive win in league play.
Greenbrier at Greenwood
Another group of Panthers came to H. B. Stewart Arena last Friday, February 17th, to take on the GHS girls and boys. Unfortunately for the Greenbrier Panthers and Lady Panthers, they turned out to be more like sacrificial lambs as both Greenwood squads turned in brilliant first half performances on their way to blowout victories. The win clinched the 5A West title and the top playoff seed from the conference for the Lady Bulldogs, who also kept their unbeaten streak alive, extending their league mark to 12-0. For the Bulldogs, they earned their first playoff berth in three years under Coach Martin, and kept alive their hopes of winning second place and getting a better playoff draw in the state tournament. It was also the fifth straight conference win for the Bulldogs (9-3).
The girls’ contest was never really a contest at all, with the Lady Bulldogs exploding for 20 points in each of the first two periods, while holding a good Greenbrier team to just three points in the first quarter and a single point in the second. Leading 40-4 at the half, Coach Reeves cleared his bench in the second half, but Greenwood still managed to score 16 points in the third period and nine points in the fourth. The Lady Panthers reached double digits only in the third quarter with 10 points, losing 65-16.
“We came out and played really [well] tonight,” said Coach Reeves. “We shot good and defended good, and rebounded [well], and pushed the ball. Everything just went really well for us, and when those things happen, we have a chance for a game to be like this. But Greenbrier’s got a good team. They’re still in the race for a playoff spot. They’re a lot better than they played tonight, but hopefully we had something to do with them not playing as well as they did the last time we played them.”
Altogether, eleven different players scored for the Lady Bulldogs, led by sophomore guard Lundon Williams with 15 points. Freshman guard Megan Hartness added 12 points as the only other GHS girl to reach double figures. Junior guard Mariko McCraney added nine points and senior guard Allie Wilson chipped in with seven points. Having sown up the league’s top spot with two games yet to play, the Lady Bulldogs already know they will be playing the fourth seed from the 5A Southwest at 4 p.m. in the state tournament on Tuesday, February 28th, at Greene County Tech in Paragould.
Asked about the remaining goals for his team, Coach Reeves said, “Our main goal from the start of the season [was] to make the playoffs. If you make it to the playoffs, you’ve got a chance to win it. We were third [seeded] two years ago and won it, so if we get there we’ve got a chance. We want to go ahead and try to finish strong [because] we know we’ve got two to six games left, and we want to make it six. It’ll be tough, but I think our team has prepared itself.” Reeves also answered a question regarding the status of senior forward Endsley Evans, who has missed more than half of the conference season with an injured ankle. “It’s still day-to-day,” said the coach. “But we’re focusing on getting every player on our team ready, and hopefully they are all full strength by the time state comes around.”
In the boys’ game that followed, Greenwood got a couple of early three-pointers from senior guard Ryan Lensing, and outstanding play from the supporting cast in building a 16-4 first quarter lead. Neither team scored in the first two minutes until Drew Morgan scored on a layup for the Bulldogs. Lensing then hit both threes within about 30 seconds of each other, and Greenwood led 8-0 before the Panthers finally scored. But things only got worse for the visitors in the second quarter. Adam Lucas added a pair of treys and Lensing got one more from the outside, while the rest of the Bulldogs knifed and darted their way to the basket, scoring several layups. A Greenbrier three-pointer at the buzzer could only slow the bleeding, as Greenwood went to the intermission up 42-17.
The Bulldogs started the third quarter much as they had finished the second. Ryan Lensing hit a three-pointer and Greenwood put together a 7-2 run to start the period. Junior forward Cole McAllister finished the scoring for the home team in the quarter with an old fashioned three-point play, giving Greenwood a 57-31 lead after 24 minutes of action. Both teams made wholesale substitutions in the fourth period as the Bulldogs (19-7, 9-3) coasted to an easy but impressive 64-44 victory. Drew Morgan led the ‘Dogs in scoring with 13 points. Ryan Lensing and Colton McEvoy both added 12 points, Adam Lucas 11 points, and Cole McAllister contributed nine points in the game.
"We're playing with great confidence right now," said GHS head coach Brian Martin. "You want to make sure after a big win [at Siloam Springs] that you don’t have a letdown. We did this last week after we won at Alma, [when] we come back against Vilonia and [got] a win at home.” Against Greenbrier, Coach Martin acknowledged that his team’s success has come from its aggressive style of play. "We attacked the rim again tonight," he said. "That’s been the key to our success – being aggressive on offense – and our shooters have shot the ball well when they are open."
Both Greenwood teams will close out the regular season and conference schedule this week on the road at Huntsville (Tuesday) and at home against Morrilton (Friday). The GHS girls are playing now for pride and an undefeated conference season, while the Bulldogs are still fighting for that number two seed in post-season play. If they win out, including a victory over Morrilton, they will finish second in conference play behind Alma, the state’s top-ranked 5A school. The state tournament will feature a potential three rounds to reach the finals, which will be played in Hot Springs at Summit Arena, March 8-10.