After a meager 3-3 record in November and December, the Greenwood Bulldogs are battling their way through a tough early conference schedule against Van Buren, Harrison, Alma, and Farmington. Greenwood is 1-3 against those teams in early league play with games coming up against Russellville, Siloam Springs, and Mountain Home, representing the Bulldogs’ best chance for one or two more conference wins in the first half of the double round-robin.

Head Coach B.J. Ross and his young squad are hoping to get reinforcements this week with William Rye and Ty Karnes possibly returning to action. A football player, Rye has yet to play since the gridiron season ended due to illness. Karnes, who played a lot last season as a freshmen, was injured in baseball last spring, had surgery in October, and hopes to be medically cleared this week. He is one of the team’s best athletes, a top shooter, and good defender. Unfortunately, the team also lost starter Braxton Canada to an injury that will keep him off the court until at least mid-February.

Van Buren

The GHS boys opened conference play in fine fashion at Van Buren, at least for the first eight minutes. Greenwood led 19-11 after one period on January 6th, only to see the Pointers reverse that exact same score in the second quarter for a 30-30 tie at the break. But the trend continued throughout the second half with the home team taking full control of the game, outscoring Greenwood 28-10 in the third quarter and 17-5 in the fourth. The final score was Van Buren 75, Greenwood 45.

About the only stat that favored the Bulldogs was three-point shooting. Greenwood hit seven of 17 attempts to just three treys for the home team. But the Pointers hit 25 of their 45 two-point shots, scoring 46 points in the paint to just 10 for Greenwood. Van Buren also won the battle of the boards, 31 to 22, and scored 23 points off 21 Greenwood turnovers.

The scoring leaders for the visitors were Hudson Clark and Blake Christiansen with 12 points each. Parker Thomas had six points, Micah Cowart and Caden Mendenhall five points each, Hudson Nichols three points, and Braxton Canada two points. Mendenhall had eight rebounds to lead his teammates while Thomas had four and Clark three rebounds. Christiansen added two assists, three deflections, and three steals.

Harrison

Three days later, the second conference game of 2026 was a barn burner, a 61-59 overtime victory by the Bulldogs over the Harrison Goblins. The contest was a back-and-forth affair for three quarters that left the score tied at 43-all before both teams netted 12 points in the final stanza, forcing the extra period, won by the hometown blue-and-white. Greenwood led 13-8 after one quarter but trailed 28-23 at the half.

A GHS rally in the third quarter had the Bulldogs going on a 10-2 run to finish the period, outscoring the Goblins 20-15 to knot the score after 24 minutes. Hudson Clark hit a three-pointer to tie the score before the third quarter ended. The GHS senior also drained a three-pointer midway through the fourth period with the Bulldogs trailing 53-49, cutting the Harrison lead to one point. Greenwood then won the extra period, 6-4.

The two squads were close in shooting percentage, 33% for Greenwood and 35% for the visitors. The Bulldogs made seven three-pointers to three for the Goblins, while Harrison led at the free throw line, 11 to 4. Both teams scored well in the paint, and the Bulldogs won the battle of the boards, 44 to 37. Both teams also protected the ball very well, combining for just 17 total turnovers and eight total steals.

The Bulldogs had three players reach double figures in scoring, Blake Christiansen, Parker Thomas, and Hudson Clark. Christiansen led the way with 18 points, one of his best varsity performances. He also had four rebounds and five defensive deflections. Thomas had 14 points with 15 rebounds for a double-double, plus two assists, two deflections, and two steals. Clark had those two critical three-pointers among his 13 points, plus five boards, three assists, and two deflections. Braxton Canada added seven points and five rebounds, while Micah Cowart scored five points and Caden Mendenhall four points. Mendenhall also had four boards, three assists, two deflections, one steal, and two blocks.

Alma

Just over a week ago the Bulldogs hosted the Alma Airedales at H.B. Stewart Arena, but things didn’t go well for the home team, despite leading 18-17 after one period. The visitors manhandled the Bulldogs in the second quarter, winning the second eight minutes of play, 26-10, to lead 43-28 at the intermission. The Airedales also dominated the third quarter, 21-12, to put the game out of reach, leading 64-40. Greenwood did win the final stanza, 26-22, to account for the 86-66 final.

Alma shot 48.5% for the contest to just 34% for the home team, but both teams shot well from beyond the three-point line. Greenwood made 10 treys to nine for the Airedales. Greenwood also made 18 free throws to 13 for Alma. But the visitors dominated the paint, scoring 46 points in the lane to just 10 points for the home team. Alma also won the rebounding war, 40 to 32, and had 11 steals to Greenwood’s five. The Bulldogs also had 15 turnovers compared to eight for Alma.

While his team took one on the chin, Greenwood’s Hudson Clark had a huge game, scoring 29 points, second only to Alma’s Shepherd Newcomb’s 34 points. Newcomb was a move-in this season for the Airedales and has made a major difference for Alma. Parker Thomas added 14 points for Greenwood, plus eight rebounds. Braxton Canada and Blake Christiansen both scored seven points, while Malakai Willis added four points, Micah Cowart three points, and Caden Mendenhall two points.

Farmington

Greenwood’s trip to Farmington last Friday ended with a blowout win for the Cardinals, more than doubling the score on the Bulldogs, 85-40. The contest was almost over before it started. Farmington, ranked #2 in the state with only one loss this season, outscored Greenwood 30-10 in the first quarter, averaging more than three points per minute. Things didn’t get much better in the second period, and the Bulldogs trailed 53-20 at the half. The home team won the third quarter, 22-11, and the fourth, 10-9, all contributing to the 45-point Farmington victory.

As one might expect, the Cardinals shot the ball very well, hitting 48.5% of their shots compared to just 27.5% for the visitors. They also hit twice as many three-pointers as Greenwood, 10 to 5. The Cards dominated the lane, scoring 40 points in the paint and outrebounded the Bulldogs, 51 to 25. The Dogs had 14 turnovers to nine for Farmington.

Hudson Clark was the only GHS player in double figures offensively with 16 points. He also had five rebounds and an assist. Blake Christiansen added eight points, William Rye five points, Parker Thomas four points, Gavin Vonderheide three points, and Jeremiah Dasher two points. Parker led the team in rebounding with 10 boards.

Coach Ross

The Dog Pound spoke to Coach Ross after the Alma game, and he offered his honest assessment of the Airedales, longtime rivals of Greenwood. “They wouldn’t be very good, but they got a good move-in #5 (Newcomb), and he’s pretty good. He’d make any team good. But when it’s 14-2 on free throws and fouls in the second quarter – Hudson Clark and Braxton Canada both sat for over five minutes, and we couldn’t score. We were up 21-20 when I had to take them out, and then it’s 43-28 [Alma at halftime]. That hurt us. It took the wind out of us. [Alma] hit a lot of threes, but I think the game changed in that second quarter when we got into foul trouble. Maybe we fouled a lot. I don’t know. But 10 to three [fouls]? That’s a lot.

“It was a physical game, and it was called a little different. It was a weird game,” continued Ross. “There wasn’t any flow to the game. Nobody could get any flow. But [Alma] did a better job than we did.” The coach then turned his attention to the upcoming game with Farmington. “They’re pretty good,” he said. "They are #1 in the league, and honestly, nobody is going to [beat them]. We always want to be [competitive] and we’re going to give it our best [effort]. But Farmington is the favorite.”

Ross also said that he expects to get both Ty Holt and William Rye back this week when Greenwood plays Russellville and Siloam Springs, and he expects them both to make a difference for the Bulldogs. Rye actually reported for duty at Farmington and scored five points, but his head coach expects Ty Holt to get his medical release this week and be ready to play soon after. The Bulldogs can certainly use the reinforcements after losing Braxton Canada to injury for the next few weeks.