Greenwood High School began its 5A West Conference basketball season last Friday night at home in H. B. Stewart Bulldog Arena, splitting a pair of games with visiting Morrilton. The GHS girls overcame a sluggish start to defeat the Lady Devil Dogs 61-45 in the opening contest, while the Morrilton boys used a 10-1 run early in the second half to notch a 54-46 victory. Up next, Greenwood will host Siloam Springs in a girls/boys doubleheader on Tuesday, January 12th. Lady Bulldogs
The GHS girls improved their overall record to 9-5, despite a somewhat ragged performance against Morrilton. Head coach Clay Reeves was pleased with the effort and the win, but not necessarily with the way his Lady Bulldogs played. Greenwood was outscored 15-11 in the first period, but rallied by scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter to take a 21-15 lead. Sophomore guard Haley Donald scored the first bucket to start the pivotal run for the Lady 'Dogs. Senior guard Rebel Clay added a pair of field goals on consecutive driving layups, followed by a three-pointer from senior guard Lynsey Turner and a free throw by junior guard Tosha Hicks. Sophomore guard Allie Wilson added a pair of free throws and a field goal, and sophomore Endsley Evans also scored to round out Greenwood's total in the first half.
The Lady Bulldogs led 26-22 at the half. Evans, who led the team in scoring throughout non-conference play, picked up her third foul with 3:33 remaining in the second stanza. While she avoided fouling out, she was not much of a factor offensively, missing several free throws and finishing the game with just seven points. For the game, the Lady Bulldogs made only nine of 20 free throws. “That's totally unacceptable,” said Coach Reeves following the game. “We need to be shooting at least 75% from the free throw line. We've done that pretty consistently all year, and we work on it every day. We've just got to get better at it.”
Morrilton's efforts to slow Evans opened up opportunities for others to contribute offensively, with three GHS girls reaching double figures in the scoring column. The Lady Bulldogs won the third period 19-11 and began the fourth quarter with a comfortable 45-33 lead. With 2:40 remaining in the contest, Haley Donald hit an 8-foot jumper to put Greenwood up 57-42, extending the lead to 15 points. Lynsey Turner scored inside at the 1:10 mark for a 59-45 GHS lead. Thirty seconds later Donald scored again to account for the final margin of victory.
Turner led the GHS girls in scoring with 14 points, followed by Allie Wilson, who came off the bench and contributed 13 points. Junior forward Jessicah Moudy added 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Senior guard Rebel Clay added eight points while Evans had seven points.
Following the game, Coach Clay addressed the local media had some constructive criticism for his team, but was careful not to detract from the significance of a win in the league opener. “We played pretty well in that four or five-minute stretch, and extended the lead,” he said of the opening minutes of the second period. “That little stretch basically won the game for us. [But] overall, we didn't play well as a team. We didn't rebound as well, we weren't very aggressive on defense, and we didn't move as quick. It was our first conference game, and we were at home and we won. That's the most important thing.”
Asked to evaluate his team's play over the holidays, Coach Reeves acknowledged improvement, but also restated his disappointment with their play against Morrilton. “I saw lots of improvement, and that's why I wasn't really happy with tonight's performance. I've seen the potential that we have, and I've seen us use it in games and in practice, but sometimes it just doesn't all [come] together. I know we're a lot better than we played tonight.”
Bulldogs
The GHS boys fell to 3-12 on the season and 0-1 in conference play after Friday's loss to Morrilton. Greenwood held its own in the first half against the deep and talented Devil Dogs, and trailed by only a point at the break, 24-23. But a brief lapse to begin the third quarter spelled doom for the home team as Morrilton turned a 10-1 scoring run into a 34-24 lead at the 4:40 mark. The Bulldogs were able to make a run in the fourth period, trimming the deficit to just four points at 45-41 with 2:40 to play, but that's as close as they got.
Senior forward Spencer Harris won the opening tip for Greenwood and finished the night with a team-high 18 points, including a trio of dunks. Harris was also the focus of attention for another reason unrelated to basketball. The two-sport star has been drawing a lot of attention from college football recruiters, including Paul Petrino, the new offensive coordinator at Illinois, which recently offered Harris a scholarship as a receiver. Petrino, who left the University of Arkansas at the end of the regular season for his new job at Illinois, was in attendance Friday night to watch Harris play. Arkansas Razorback head coach Bobby Petrino was also expected to attend the game, along with his new receiver's coach, to watch Harris and perhaps offer him a scholarship as well. However, the elder Petrino did not make an appearance during the game.
Harris converted an offensive rebound into points at the 1:11 mark of the opening stanza, giving Greenwood an 11-10 lead. But with the game tied at 12, Morrilton hit a shot at the buzzer to take a 14-12 lead into the second period. Harris tied the game at 14 with his first dunk of the night at the 6:30 mark, as both teams continued to battle. Of concern, however, was Morrilton's ability to make substitutions with two groups of five players, rotating every few minutes.
The Devil Dogs got the ball to open the third quarter, then promptly turned it over. But Greenwood missed its first shot and Morrilton drew first blood to take a 26-23 lead. Following a GHS turnover, the visitors scored inside to go up 28-23. After a Greenwood free throw, the Devil Dogs hit the first of two consecutive three-pointers, building a 31-24 lead. Half a minute later the second trey made the score 34-24. Sophomore guard Ryan Lensing finally broke the scoring drought for Greenwood with a layup at the 3:30 mark. The Bulldogs finished the period trailing by nine points, 39-30.
GHS senior forward Kyle Helms scored the first points of the final period, but Morrilton went on a 6-0 scoring run to increase its lead to 45-32. Good dribble penetration and a nice pass from junior guard Shawn Hankins set up Spencer Harris for another dunk with 3:40 left to play. Defensive pressure by Greenwood resulted in a turnover and a basket by senior guard Brandon Brewer, cutting the lead to 45-38. Harris then intercepted a Morrilton pass and Lensing hit a three-pointer to trim the deficit to 45-41 at the 2:40 mark, but the Devil Dogs outscored Greenwood 9-5 down the stretch to secure the win. Besides the 18 points scored by Harris, Brewer added 11 points and Lensing chipped in with 10 points for the Bulldogs.
After the game, GHS head coach Brian Martin was quick to identify when the game got away from his Bulldogs. “We always talk about the first four minutes of the game and the first four minutes of the second half,” he said. “We gave up three of what I call HORSE shots from the perimeter, and shooters are going to make those wide-open, uncontested shots.”
The Bulldogs also left a lot of points at the free throw line, making only 11 of 22 shots at the charity stripe. “In conference, you've got to be better than 50% from the line,” said Martin. “That's 11 missed opportunities.” The head coach also acknowledged the impact of Morrilton's strategy to overwhelm the opposition with their superior depth. “They wore us down,” said Martin. “That's part of their system - they play 10 guys. We fought hard, but when you get fatigued you've still got to be able to take care of the ball and do the things at the end of the game to give yourself a chance to win.”
Martin and assistant coach Renner Reed are finding wins hard to come by in their first season at Greenwood. Still, the coaching staff and players are working hard to correct mistakes and flaws in their game as conference play begins. But their struggles have been complicated somewhat by an injury and a key player departure during the holidays. Junior guard Tony Sandifer left the team between semesters and junior guard Patrick Kelley sustained a serious shoulder injury that will require surgery after the season. Martin said that he hopes Kelley can come back at some point during conference play, but gave no timetable for his return.