Despite dropping both games last week, the Greenwood Bulldogs had one of their better weeks according to Head Coach Donnie Husband. The ‘Dogs lost on the road at Alma last Tuesday and fell at home to Greenbrier last Friday, both conference games.
But Husband, just over midway through his first season at Greenwood, saw some signs of improvement in his team, and hopes that bodes well for the second half of the conference schedule.
Greenwood is winless so far in league play (0-7) with seven games left, but could still impact the conference race if they can upset one or two of the contenders.
After an open date this past Tuesday, the Bulldogs will travel to Little Rock Christian on Friday to begin the second half of the league schedule. They will host Russellville next Tuesday.
Greenbrier
“We may have played the best quarter of our season,” said Husband of last Friday’s third period in a 61-38 loss at home to Greenbrier.
The Bulldogs couldn’t find the bottom of the net in the first quarter, despite getting some good looks at the basket. They trailed the visiting Panthers 12-1 after eight minutes and 27-7 at the half.
But an energetic and productive third period saw Greenwood score 21 points, cutting Greenbrier’s lead to 44-28. The quarter began with a three-pointer by Cameron Hampton and ended with a nifty buzzer-beating offensive rebound and layup by Steven Stone.
“I think overall we take some positives from it, because [Greenbrier] scored 80 points the other night, but not tonight,” said Husband. “We had a good third quarter and had some different guys score.
“We continue to practice hard every day, and some of those kids are getting better. The young big guys are starting to make some progress and doing some good things in [junior varsity] games. We’re trying to roll them in and give them some experience. They’ve earned it.”
Asked about realistic goals for the remainder of the season, Husband said, “The dream would be to win some of these games. It seems like this was our most competitive week, and that’s hopefully something we can build on.
“We need to get some of our young guys to grow and continue to play and gain confidence. Maybe they can put themselves in position to close a game out – to get over the hump one night and figure out a way to come out with a [win] and see what we’ve got moving forward.”
Guard Cameron Hampton led Greenwood with 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Forward Jake Garnes added eight points, and guard Aaron Ligon added five points. All three players are juniors.
Alma
At Alma last Tuesday the Bulldogs were in the game throughout, trailing 11-7 after one period and 24-21 at the half. The Airedales led by five points (37-32) after three quarters and won 61-43 when Greenwood was forced to chase the ball and foul late in the game.
Garnes had 11 points for the visitors, while Hampton scored nine points. Senior forward Jack Gaston contributed eight points, while Stone had five and senior James Christian scored four points.
“Right after the half we get five straight [defensive] stops, and [offensively] we had four misses and a turnover, and two of those misses were layups,” explained Coach Husband. “They were good possessions. If we make those, who knows?”
Beebe
Points were precious when the Beebe Badgers came calling on January 18th. Neither team could score in the first period. Greenwood led 5-2 after eight minutes, but trailed 15-11 at the half.
Beebe took the lead for good with an 8-0 run late in the second quarter, all four baskets coming in the paint. The Badgers then scored 12 points in the third quarter, all from three-point range to add to their lead.
Greenwood continued to struggle offensively in the second half, trailing 27-15 after three periods, totaling just 21 points in the 38-21 conference loss. Jack Gaston led the Bulldogs with 15 points.
Siloam Springs
Once again the Bulldogs had trouble scoring on the road against the Panthers on January 15th, and trailed 9-2 after one period.
Siloam Springs pulled ahead 21-12 at the break and used a 9-4 surge to open the third stanza to take a 14-point lead.
Greenwood answered, trimming the deficit to seven points twice, but the Panthers responded in the fourth quarter, pushing it back to double digits at 40-28 before winning 52-34.
Jake Garnes lead the Bulldogs with eight points. Steven Stone had six points, along with Jack Gaston, while senior Mark Johnson added four points.
"We didn't give ourselves a chance in the first half," said Coach Husband. "With 17 turnovers at halftime, we don't have enough offensive firepower to miss layups and free throws and have a chance to compete. We were lucky we were only down nine at half.
"It's been the story of our season. We'll hang around and we fight hard, but in the end, we just don't have enough firepower. We can't get the same guys all playing [well] on the same night."
Vilonia
At home on January 11th the Bulldogs were outscored in all four quarters by the visiting Eagles, who led 14-10 and 28-20 at the end of the first two periods.
Things got even worse for Greenwood in the second half though, as the visitors outperformed the ‘Dogs 32-14 on their way to a 60-34 conference win.
Cameron Hampton led Greenwood with 14 points, followed by Jack Gaston with 10.
Russellville
The Cyclones battled back from a cold-shooting first half to get a 57-51 home victory over Greenwood on January 8th. Russellville was 2-of-10 from the three-point line and 4-of-12 from the line in the first half.
Greenwood led 26-22 at the intermission behind a stellar first-half performance by Jack Gaston, who poured in 19 points.
But the Panthers adjusted, and the senior forward was well-defended in the second half, scoring just four points to finish with 23 for the game.
Meanwhile, Russellville closed the scoring gap and wrestled the lead away from the Bulldogs in the third period. The Cyclones then held on in the fourth quarter for the six-point win.