The Greenwood Bulldogs ended their 2015-16 basketball season the last week in February, dropping a pair of conference games to Van Buren and Little Rock Catholic. It was a long and difficult campaign for the 'Dogs, winning just one league contest and four games overall.
Greenwood lost 60-36 at Van Buren (22-7) on February 23rd. The Bulldogs scored just two points in the first period and trailed 28-11 at the half. The second half was more competitive, but the Bulldogs eventually fell by 24 points.
The talented Pointers went on to reach the semi-finals of the 7A state tournament before losing to Bentonville in overtime last Saturday.
The season finale on February 26th was also senior day for the Bulldogs, who boast three seniors on their roster – Dustin Lunsford, Blaise Lomon, and Chase Sanders.
The opponent was Little Rock Catholic, and the Rockets got off to a fast start, leading 27-15 at the half. But Greenwood rallied in the third quarter, with Blaise Lomon picking up several inside buckets, trimming the visitors' lead to 39-32.
Both teams fought hard throughout the second half, and play became quite intense and even a little rough over the final 16 minutes, with lots of contact and numerous fouls called. The Bulldogs pressed on defense in the fourth quarter, trying to force turnovers, but they were never able to get the Catholic lead below six points.
Greenwood junior Luke Hales was fouled on a three-point try just before the buzzer, and managed to hit all three charity shots, trimming the final score to 56-49.
Blaise Lomon led the Bulldogs with 18 points, while sophomore guard Zane Harmon added nine points. Dustin Lunsford and Luke Hales had six points each.
The Bulldogs ended their season with a 4-21 overall record, 1-13 in league play for Head Coach Greg Nichols. With over 30 years of coaching experience, Nichols served for three years as a GHS assistant before taking over the head job this season. The good news is that most of his players return next season and the Bulldogs will be playing in a new conference made up of only 6A schools.