The Greenwood Bulldogs got up off the mat Tuesday night and kept their hopes alive for a competitive conference season, defeating Siloam Springs in overtime, 53-51. After a tough 3-11 start in non-conference play, the GHS boys opened their 5A West Conference schedule last Friday by losing at home to Morrilton, 54-46. Playing their second straight league game Tuesday at H. B. Stewart arena, the 'Dogs desperately needed a win at home before hitting the road for their next two games at Greenbrier and Alma.
The game was close throughout, with neither team able to build a double-digit lead. The Bulldogs led by nine points in the second period, only to see the Panthers rally and narrow the margin to four points. Siloam Springs lead by six in the fourth quarter, before Greenwood rallied over the final three minutes to force the extra period. The Bulldogs also got some unexpected offensive help from sophomore guard Braden Suter, who canned four three-pointers and may have been the difference in the game. Senior forward Spencer Harris had another solid outing at the post position, and sophomore guard Ryan Lensing also scored in double figures, including the game winner in overtime.
The two teams played to a draw after the first eight minutes. Tied at nine-all, Harris put back an offensive rebound and was fouled with 1:44 left in the opening stanza. His free throw gave Greenwood a temporary 12-9 lead before the Panthers came back to tie the contest at 13-all at the end of the period. The Bulldogs then went on an 11-2 scoring run to take a 24-15 advantage with less than three minutes remaining before the half. But the visitors managed to score the last five points of the quarter, while holding Greenwood scoreless, to trim the margin to 24-20 at the break. Neither team could get a significant advantage in the third period. Greenwood led by three points once at 26-23, and Siloam Springs led by one point three different times. After 24 minutes of action, the Panthers were on top, 34-33.
The Panthers drew first blood in the game's final period, taking a 36-33 lead. But Braden Suter nailed a three-pointer near the 6:30 mark to knot the score at 36-all. Following another Panther basket, Ryan Lensing also hit a trey to put the Bulldogs on top, 39-38. With the game tied at 40, Siloam Springs used a three-pointer and a trio of free throws to take its biggest lead of the game at 46-40 with about three minutes left to play, but the 'Dogs didn't quit.
Greenwood began its comeback on the strength of a three-pointer by senior guard Brandon Brewer that trimmed the deficit to 46-43 with two minutes to go. After a Bulldogs' free throw, Ryan Lensing drove to the basket for a layup to tie the game at 46-all with a minute remaining. Following a Panthers' miss, the Bulldogs grabbed the rebound and held the ball until only 11 seconds remained. Head coach Brian Martin then signaled for a timeout to set up what he hoped would be the final winning shot. However, a controversial over-and-back call by the official on the inbounds pass cost Greenwood the ball, giving Siloam Springs possession with 10 second left. But Spencer Harris swatted away the Panthers' shot attempt as the final seconds ticked off the clock, forcing the overtime.
The visitors led only once in the OT period, scoring first to take a 48-46 advantage. Braden Suter's fourth trey of the game put the Bulldogs up 49-48. Harris followed with another block and Greenwood melted some time off the clock as it ticked down toward the two-minute mark. A Panthers' free throw tied the game at 49, before Harris scored to give the home team a 51-49 lead with 1:25 to play. Harris then came up with a steal before a timeout was called at the 1:04 mark. Following a missed GHS free throw, Siloam Springs tied the game at 51-all with just over 22 ticks remaining on the scoreboard clock.
After a timeout to set up a play, Greenwood put the ball in play in the hands of senior guard Brandon Brewer. After a couple of perimeter passes, Brewer found a crease in the Panthers' defense and exploited it, driving inside before dishing off to Ryan Lensing underneath the basket. Lensing caught the ball and hesitated just long enough to prevent his shot from being blocked, putting up an uncontested layup as the final seconds ticked away and the celebration began.
In the game, Harris led Greenwood with 16 points. Suter added 12, all of them coming on long distance bombs. Lensing had 10 points and Brewer added eight points. Sophomore guard Hayden Smith also scored six points to round out the offense for the 'Dogs, who moved to 1-1 in conference play and 4-12 overall.
Obviously, Coach Martin was both elated and relieved by the victory as he spoke with the media after the game. “I'm very proud of them,” said Martin of his players. “To win not only a conference game, but win a close game in overtime, making the plays like we haven't made at the end of a game - we did those things tonight just enough to get a win. We made a play at the end, and that's just how it's going to be every game in conference. Anybody can beat anybody and you've just got to stay mentally ready for four quarters.”
Martin also addressed his usage of more players off the bench against the Panthers, including Braden Suter. “We played a lot of kids tonight, and we're going to start doing that more. The team seems to produce better the way we played tonight. I've said all along that it's the sum of our team. It's not just one guy here and one guy there. Spencer had another great night, especially rebounding and defensively, blocking shots, and scoring put backs when we needed him to. Braden Suter made some big shots for us in his first game where he really played big minutes. I'm just very proud of them.”
Asked about his team's confidence level during the game, the coach said, “We got down in the fourth quarter and I didn't see any bad body language as far as 'here we go again.' I didn't see that. Just the look in their eyes every timeout [said] that they knew we had a chance to win this. It's just a big difference in the way it was [last] Friday night.”
Finally, Martin commented on the next two conference games on the road. “We're at Greenbrier Friday and we'll be without Spencer Harris. He's got an official visit to [the University of] Illinois, so Chris Caudle and Kyle Helms are going to have to step up big in those roles and I know they will. We had to definitely get one at home - you have to defend your home court - and now we've got to try and get a steal on the road. Of course, Alma is very good, as we all know.” Both Greenwood teams will next play at home on Friday, January 22nd against Vilonia in a game that will serve as the basketball homecoming for 2010.
Lady Bulldogs
In the opening game Tuesday night, the GHS girls fell behind early, then rallied to take a double digit lead, only to succumb to a heartbreaking fourth quarter comeback by the visiting Lady Panthers, who won the game in the final minute of play, 61-58. Siloam Springs improved to 11-1 on the season while the Lady Bulldogs fell to 9-6 overall, 1-1 in conference play.
According to head coach Clay Reeves, the GHS strategy was to try and shut down the potent outside shooting attack of the Lady Panthers, which meant extending the defense and leaving the interior vulnerable to perhaps the league's best inside player, Siloam Springs' Ashley Adams - all six feet four inches of her. If the visitor's were to win, Greenwood was going to make sure that Adams beat them by herself, said Reeves. And for three quarters, the strategy was working.
But things didn't look so rosy for the Lady 'Dogs in the opening minutes of the contest, as they fell behind 4-0, prompting an early timeout by Reeves. When the score reached 8-0, Reeves burned another timeout to settle his team down. But whatever he said finally sank in and the GHS girls rallied to close the gap to 16-14 after the first eight minutes, mostly on the strength of their outside shooting. They finished the game with nine three-point baskets.
Greenwood's momentum continued throughout the second quarter as well, helping the Lady Bulldogs build a 31-22 halftime margin, an advantage they maintained and even extended to double digits in the third quarter. Senior guard Rebel Clay hit a trey at the 2:05 mark of the period to put Greenwood up 41-31. That was followed by another long distance shot from sophomore forward Endsley Evans for a 44-31 advantage - the largest of the game by either team. The Lady Panthers did manage to close the gap to 10 points at the end of the period, 44-34.
But less than four minutes into the final period, Siloam Springs had trimmed its deficit to just four points at 47-43, as Greenwood desperately tried to hold onto the lead. Senior guard Lynsey Turner hit a three-point shot at the 4:20 mark to give Greenwood its last 7-point lead at 50-43. After that, the Lady Panthers were relentless in their comeback, utilizing Adams inside and outscoring the home team 18-8 down the stretch.
After holding Adams to just 12 points through the first three quarters, she doubled her total in the fourth quarter alone, as Greenwood had no one to match up with her size. Inside the final 2:00, sophomore guard Haley Donald scored to put the Lady Bulldogs up by four points, 58-54. But another easy basket by Adams was followed by a Greenwood turnover and a foul by Endsley Evans - her fifth - exiling her to the GHS bench. A free throw trimmed the lead to just one point, then another Greenwood turnover game Siloam Springs the opportunity to take the lead for the first time since the second period - a chance the Lady Panthers did not waste. A layup gave the visitors a 59-58 lead with about a half-a-minute to play, and they added to their lead at the free throw line en route to the 61-58 victory.
While Adams finished with 24 points for Siloam Springs, Greenwood's leading scorers included Turner with 15 points and Donald with 14. Clay and Evans each scored eight points, while senior forwards Lacy Cook and Sarah Lenzen scored seven and six points, respectively.
Coach Reeves spent a lot of time in the locker room with his team after the game, but he emerged with an optimistic attitude, proud of the way his team performed against one of the best Class 5A teams in the state. “Our kids played their hearts out,” said the coach. “They followed everything we wanted [them] to do. Siloam Springs [has] a great team, and this just shows our kids how close we are to being a great team. We're still learning; we're still growing. One possession in this game made a big difference. We're about one possession away from where we need to be. We've just got to build on this and correct a few little mistakes.”
Reeves also addressed his team's slow start against the Lady Panthers. “We came out right from the start a little overwhelmed, and didn't get back on defense, and had a few turnovers there, [but] we settled down. I thought Haley Donald played great right from the start, and kept us in the game, and then we had different kids step up all throughout the game. But we'll learn from this. The mistakes we made are mistakes we can fix.”
Explaining his pre-game strategy, Reeves gave high marks to the Lady Panthers. “They can put five good players out there at all times. Everywhere you look they've got kids that can shot that three all day. I've seen them play a [lot] this year. They can nail it from anywhere, anytime. Their three-point shooting is probably their biggest strength. Ashley Adams is a great player also, but sometimes when you're a little overmatched you've got to do some things a little different and hope it works, and tonight it almost did. One or two possessions would have made a difference, but you've got to pick what you choose to give up.” For the game, the GHS girls allowed only three long-range baskets to Siloam Springs. Up next for the GHS girls is Greenbrier and Alma.