The Greenwood Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs returned to the friendly confines of H.B. Stewart Arena last Friday night after an absence of nearly three weeks. They last played at home on January 26th against Harrison before hitting the road for three consecutive games plus an open date. The GHS boys lost at Central Arkansas Christian (61-40) and Morrilton (61-53), and won at Siloam Springs (58-52). The GHS girls lost at CAC (51-31) and Siloam Springs (52-35), but defeated Morrilton (62-27).
With just four 5A West Conference games remaining on the schedule, the Lady Bulldogs are still in good position to qualify for the post season, currently in third place behind Vilonia and Siloam Springs. The Greenwood boys have slipped in the league standings to 4-6 and probably must win at least three of their last four games to have a shot at extending their season. Friday night's games both went down to the wire, with the Lady 'Dogs winning in overtime and the Bulldogs losing a heartbreaker at the buzzer in regulation play.
Lady Bulldogs win 53-49
GHS head coach Clay Reeves watched his team take a narrow 13-12 lead after the first eight minutes, but then saw them falter in the second period. Greenwood scored only two baskets on offense while giving up 15 points on the defensive end to trail 27-17 at the half.
The margin didn't change much in the third quarter as the visiting Lady Panthers outscored Greenwood 12-11 to lead 39-28 after 24 minutes of play. But a 7-0 scoring run to begin the fourth quarter put the Lady 'Dogs back in the game. Leading 41-37, Greenbrier called a timeout at the 5:08 mark, hoping to slow the GHS comeback, but it didn't work.
When the action resumed, the Lady 'Dogs showed their patience on offense, working the ball for a high percentage shot. But when sophomore forward Endsley Evans missed that shot, junior forward Jessicah Moudy grabbed the rebound and scored at close range to trim the GHS deficit to just two points, 41-39. A GHS free throw cut the lead further to 41-40 before the Lady Panthers called another timeout at the 2:13 mark.
A three-pointer stretched the Greenbrier lead back to four points at 44-40, but another Jessicah Moudy offensive rebound and basket followed to trim the margin back to two points as the clock ticked below 2:00 remaining. With 55.5 seconds left, Greenbrier added a pair of free throws to take another four-point lead at 46-42.
On offense, the Lady Bulldogs went to top scorer Endsley Evans, who missed her third consecutive shot, but once again a teammate bailed her out as sophomore guard Haley Donald rebounded the ball and scored on a short jumper with just over 30 seconds left to play. Back on defense, Greenwood fouled and put Greenbrier at the line with 20.2 seconds showing on the game clock, and the strategy paid off when the shooter missed her first attempt. Donald rebounded the ball and Greenwood called timeout on its end of the court with just over eight seconds left. When the teams returned to the floor, Greenbrier also called a timeout of its own to reset its defense, extending the stoppage in play.
When the ball was inbounded, it went into the hands of Endsely Evans. But as the clocked ticked below five seconds, a player pileup occurred on the court in front of the GHS bench, drawing the attention of everyone in the arena, but no foul was called and play continued. With players on the floor at her feet, Evans launched an open jump shot from about 12 feet that found its way to the bottom of the net at the buzzer, tying the score and sending the game into overtime.
Knotted at 46-all, Evans put the Lady Bulldogs ahead with a basket in the lane at the 3:20 mark of the 4:00 overtime period. But Greenbrier immediately responded with a three-pointer to take its last lead of the game at 49-48 with 3:00 to play. But Greenwood responded to take the lead for good on a conventional three-point play by Evans, whose basket and free throw made the score 51-49.
After a Greenbrier missed shot, the Lady Bulldogs rebounded and avoided being fouled until 34 seconds remained. Senior guard Rebel Clay missed the first free throw and the Lady Panthers rebounded with a chance to tie the game or take the lead. But a turnover in the lane was grabbed by Endsely Evans, who dribbled the ball coast-to-coast for a game-clinching layup.
Evans finished with 18 points as did Haley Donald. Senior guard Sarah Lenzen scored eight points and Jessicah Moudy added six points. Coach Reeves spoke with the media after the win, and praised his team for their good play, with the notable exception of the second quarter.
"It didn't look very good at all there in the second quarter. Everything Greenbrier did is stuff we prepared for, and our kids know it and for the most part they covered all of it great. But they've got good shooters and they hit those open shots," said the coach, also admitting that some of his players had mental lapses on defense in the second period. "That's what we talk about. You've got to play defense the whole possession. If one person let's up just a little bit it gives the other team the opportunity to score."
The coach also described the final play in regulation that sent the game into overtime. "Obviously we had to score, and thank goodness it was just two [points]. We were just running one of our regular inbounds plays. It was either going to go to Lynsey Turner or to Endsely Evans. [We] made the right decision throwing it to the open girl and Endsely hit the shot." Asked if the pileup on the floor could have distracted the defense and allowed Evans to get a better shot, Coach Reeves allowed for the possibility. "Everybody was kind of looking at it," he said. "But things turned out good for her to get that open shot."
Individually, Reeves praised the play of Sarah Lenzen, Endsley Evans, Jessicah Moudy, and Haley Donald. "I thought this was one of Lenzen's best games. She's always solid in every area of the game. She usually doesn't score a whole lot, but tonight she scored some points. She did a great job as a passer and defender. And Endsely, Jessicah, and Haley also did a great job. All of them are really good rebounders, and they did a good job tonight."
Regarding the conference standings, Reeves admitted that Friday's victory was a big win and puts his team in a much better position. "This one helps us out a lot," said the coach. "It was almost a [must win] for Greenbrier. But the credit goes to our kids for not ever giving up. A lot of the credit needs to go to [assistant] Coach [Don] Williams for making some of the adjustments and for keeping the kids going. The whole second half our kids made plays on defense, and offensively we had two or three different kids step up at the end of regulation and in overtime."
GHS boys lose at buzzer 60-58
Badly needing a win to even their conference record, the Greenwood Bulldogs took an early lead over the Greenbrier Panthers. Trailing 9-6 midway through the first quarter, the visitors scored two unanswered field goals to take the lead at 10-9. But a pair of GHS free throws and a three-pointer by senior guard Brandon Brewer helped the Bulldogs close the period strongly with a 14-10 advantage.
Unfortunately, Greenbrier opened the second stanza with a 15-2 scoring run to go up 25-16 before GHS head coach Brian Martin called a timeout to stop the bleeding at the 4:19 mark. The strategy worked, as the 'Dogs rallied to score five unanswered points on a pair of free throws by junior forward Billyjack Freeman and a three-pointer by sophomore guard Ryan Lensing. Trailing 27-21, senior forward Spencer Harris scored inside for the Bulldogs to keep the pressure on.
Down 31-23 with 1:53 left in the half, Greenwood got a pair of treys from Lensing and sophomore guard Braden Suter to trim the deficit to 31-29 inside the final minute of play. The visitors added a free throw to make the score 32-29 at the intermission.
The Bulldogs had a letdown on defense in the third quarter, according to head coach Brian Martin, giving up too many easy baskets to the Panthers, who hardly seemed to miss a shot during the period, building a 49-41 advantage heading into the final stanza of play. Greenbrier actually led by 11 points, 44-33, inside the three-minute mark. But late in the period GHS senior forward Kyle Helms scored inside and Ryan Lensing added another trey to trim the margin to eight points at 49-41.
The Panthers scored first in the fourth period to take a 10-point lead, but a pair of Brandon Brewer free throws started the Greenwood comeback. Early in the quarter, Greenbrier slowed the game down, trying to run time off the clock and protect its lead, but the tactic failed when the Panthers mishandled the ball and committed a pair of costly turnovers.
After a couple of Ryan Lensing free throws, Billyjack Freeman scored inside on an acrobatic layup to cut the Greenbrier lead to 51-47 with 4:30 left to play. A Brandon Brewer trey at the 3:50 mark trimmed the Greenbrier lead even further to 53-50. Brewer then nailed another three-pointer at the 2:30 mark to tie the game at 53-all.
Greenbrier scored to regain the lead with 1:23 left to play, before Lensing hit his sixth and final trey of the game to put Greenwood up, 56-55. The Panthers then responded with a long ball of their own to go up 58-56 with 50 seconds remaining. Without calling a timeout, Greenwood threw the ball in and Brandon Brewer scored on a driving layup to knot the score once again at 58-all. Coach Martin then signaled for a timeout to set up his defense with just over 33 ticks remaining on the game clock.
When play resumed, Greenbrier showed patience, holding the ball until near the 10-second mark before making a move toward the basket. The shot went up with less than five seconds remaining, but Greenwood's Spencer Harris soared high to knock it away. Unfortunately, the ball landed in the hands of a nearby Panther, who scored at pointblank range for the winner. Time expired before the Bulldogs had a chance to inbound the ball or call a timeout.
Brandon Brewer and Ryan Lensing combined for 44 of Greenwood's 58 points. Brewer hit five three-pointers for 24 points, while Lensing added six treys for 20 points. Clearly frustrated and disappointed with the heartbreaking loss, head coach Brian Martin was looking for a quick exit after the game, but took the time to speak with members of the local media.
He pinpointed the third quarter as the turning point in the game. "We just didn't do a good enough job limiting easy baskets for them," said the coach. "They just got too many high percentage shots. We dug ourselves a hole, but credit our guys for fighting back and giving us a chance to win. But that's the way it is in conference [play], and we give credit to Greenbrier for making the last play. It's tough losing one like that, but that's part of it."
"They shot the ball well," said Martin of his offensive stars, Brewer and Lensing. "They hit some big three-point shots, and we got some stops on the defensive end of the floor in the fourth quarter to give us a chance to get back in it. We just ran out of time. We scored points tonight, more than we normally do, so that wasn't the problem."
Regarding the remainder of the conference season, the coach voiced his opinion about what it will take to reach the post-season. "We've got four more games," he said. "We're four and six. Eight wins will get you in. Seven and seven will be a tie. We needed a win tonight, so that just makes the next one more important. We're going to keep fighting and we just want to make sure that we continue to get better." The GHS boys have Alma, Vilonia, Harrison, and CAC remaining on the conference schedule - two at home and two on the road.