The Greenwood Bulldogs boys’ basketball season is over, courtesy of the Little Rock Hall Warriors and some quick, early whistles by the officiating crew during last week’s state tournament game in West Memphis. Hall won the game, 60-48, and ultimately reached the state semi-finals before losing.
But despite the bittersweet ending, the 2017-18 Bulldogs took a huge step forward in putting the program back on the competitive map, winning 16 games this season. Their 16-13 overall mark, and 10-2 in conference play, more than doubled their win total (7) from last season. They also reached double digit victories for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
Head Coach Greg Nichols is retiring after six years at Greenwood, having already retired from teaching and coaching in Oklahoma. He came as an assistant under former head coach Brian Martin, then stayed on as head coach when Martin departed for Greene County Tech in Paragould.
Nichols gave himself three years to turn the program around, and he has certainly done so, winning four games in his first season, seven in his second, and now 16 in his third and final year at the helm.
He also did so while competing against Class 6A and 7A schools in conference play in his first season before playing in the 5A/6A blended conference the last two years. His last two teams also qualified for the state tournament, and his players always gave their all in every game.
This year’s senior-laden squad were sophomores on Nichols’ first team as GHS head coach. Seven senior players were honored during the regular season finale on February 15th. They included Neil Rice, Jordan Sheppard, Zane Harmon, Easton Barrett, Connor O’Bryan, Luke Johnson, and Ronin Stewart.
Of that group, Rice and Sheppard were move-ins, Rice from Van Buren last year and Sheppard from Fort Smith Southside two seasons ago, and both have made a significant impact on the program, especially Sheppard, the team’s scoring and assist leader the past two years.
All these young men, and the underclassmen too, deserve recognition for their hard work, and congratulations for turning a struggling program around. It will be up to a new head coach, the returning players, and future Bulldogs to continue building on this season’s success.
Texarkana
The Bulldogs opened 6A West conference tournament play with a 57-52 home loss to El Dorado on February 17th. Rebounding from that narrow defeat, they secured their spot in the 6A state tournament with a 62-45 home victory over Siloam Springs four days later.
On the 24th they also hosted the Razorbacks of Arkansas High in Texarkana, the winner earning the five seed in the state tournament. Greenwood jumped out to a big early lead, then held on as the Razorbacks slowly crawled back into the game in the second half.
Behind Jordan Sheppard’s 11 points in the opening quarter, the Bulldogs led 24-8 after one period, which also included the team’s first and only dunk by Greenwood’s Neil Rice.
But Texarkana regrouped and outscored the ‘Dogs by two points in the second quarter, even cutting the GHS lead to nine points, 26-17, at the 2:50 mark. But when both teams headed to the locker room at halftime, Greenwood was still up by a comfortable margin, 33-19.
The Razorbacks continued their rally in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 18-9, cutting the GHS lead to 42-37 late in the period. But a pair of Peyton Holt free throws and a Jordan Sheppard bucket pushed the lead back to nine points at 46-37 as the quarter ended.
But Texarkana wouldn’t go away, cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to just two points, 57-55, with 2:35 left to play. Then Sheppard hit a pair of free throws, followed by a Razorbacks’ turnover and a basket by Greenwood’s Zane Harmon, making the score 61-55.
Four more Jordan Sheppard free throws followed, making it a 10-point game. Holt added a free throw and Ronin Stewart finished things off with a pair of charity shots, pushing the final margin to 13 points, 68-55. The Razorbacks were held scoreless over the final 2:35 of play.
Sheppard led all scorers with 33 points, including 12 of 13 at the charity stripe. Stewart had a nice game as well with 15 points, followed by Harmon with seven, Rice and Holt with six points each, and Easton Barrett with three points.
For the game, Greenwood finished 29 of 39 overall at the line for 74%. The Bulldogs also made 50% of their two-point field goal attempts. The ‘Dogs didn’t attempt many three-point shots, hitting just 17% from behind the arc. Texarkana shot 47% from two-point range and 29% from long distance.
“We felt like we could get the ball to the hole, and that’s pretty much what we did,” said Coach Nichols after the win. “We had 36 points in the paint, which was over half of our points.
“Texarkana also had 20 turnovers,” added Nichols. “That could be the key to the game right there.” Greenwood also converted nine steals into 20 points and played the Razorbacks even on the boards.
“Jordan came out [hot] in the first quarter and ended up with 33 [points], and Ronin Stewart took four charges. That’s great defense right there. He had 15 [points too]. But I’m tickled to death to get the five seed. I love it,” said the coach.
“These guys wanted to go to the state tournament, and they wanted the five seed once we lost to El Dorado. I thought today they showed some composure. I thought they did a really good job. Texarkana cut it to two points late, but we ended up winning by 13.”
Little Rock Hall
The Hall Warriors were the four seed from the powerful 6A East and entered last Wednesday’s opening round state tournament contest with a 22-8 overall mark. They were the clear favorites to win the game, but they also got a little help from the men in strips, putting Greenwood in early foul trouble, hamstringing the GHS offense.
Greenwood’s best player and leading scorer, Jordan Sheppard, was whistled for three fouls in the first quarter alone, sending him to the bench for the remainder of the half. Zane Harmon then picked up his third foul in the second period, taking the team’s top two offensive players off the floor.
The Bulldogs kept it close in the opening quarter, trailing by just one point, 13-12, at the buzzer. But without Sheppard and then also losing Harmon took its toll in the second period. With the game tied at 17-all, the Warriors went on a 14-4 run to close out the first half, leading 31-21 at the intermission.
With both seniors back in the game to start the second half, the Bulldogs trimmed their deficit to just five points at 35-30 after a 5-0 scoring run. But Hall rallied, and Sheppard was tagged for his fourth foul before the quarter ended with the Warriors back on top by double digits, 41-30.
Out of gas and frustrated by foul trouble, Greenwood was unable to mount a final charge in the fourth quarter and lost 60-48, concluding their season, ending the high school careers of seven outstanding seniors, and closing out a long and successful career for Head Coach Greg Nichols.