The Greenwood varsity boys still have a long way to go to reach their potential this season, but have competed hard and shown signs of improvement over the last two weeks, playing in two tournaments since the roster expanded with the arrival of several football athletes.
The Bulldogs won two of their three games at Russellville (Dec. 7-9) before co-hosting the H.B. Stewart Classic last week along with the Lady Bulldogs. This past Tuesday the GHS boys traveled to Rogers to face the Class 7A Mountaineers. Unfortunately, the 'Dogs lost 64-57.
Greenwood trailed 28-21 at the half, but Rogers built a double digit lead (48-33) after three periods. The Bulldogs had a strong fourth quarter offensively, scoring 24 points, but it wasn't enough to stave off defeat. Jordan Sheppard led the team in scoring with 23 points. Trevor Loveday added 10.
The GHS boys will host Rogers Heritage this Thursday (Dec. 22) before taking three days off for Christmas. They will return to action next week in tournament play at Siloam Springs before opening the conference season at Alma on January 3rd.
Russellville
The Mountain Home Bombers blew a 12-point fourth quarter lead against Greenwood in the opening round of the Russellville tournament on December 7th. The Bulldogs used a late offensive rush to earn its second win of the season, 51-42.
Trailing 34-24, Greenwood's Alec Armstrong, a senior guard, opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play, as the Bulldogs outscored the Bombers 14-4 to tie the game and force overtime. The Bulldogs then won the extra period 12-4 to notch their second win of the season.
The Bombers led 13-9 after one period and 23-15 at the half. But sophomore guard Peyton Holt opened the overtime with a pair of buckets for a quick 42-40 lead, and the 'Dogs never looked back.
Holt and junior guard Zane Harmon led Greenwood with 12 points each. Armstrong and junior guard Jordan Sheppard had eight points apiece, while sophomore Josh Teeter, senior Devin Gilbert and junior Easton Barrett had four points each.
On day two of the tournament the Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker to Class 7A Van Buren, falling to the Pointers 51-49. Greenwood trailed 13-8 after one period and 28-12 at the half. But the second half belonged to the GHS boys, outscoring the Pointers 16-14 and 21-9 over the final two periods.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs came up two points short, despite a huge offensive effort by Jordan Sheppard. The transfer from Fort Smith Southside led Greenwood with 32 points. Alec Armstrong contributed 10 points in the game.
Arkadelphia was Greenwood's final opponent at Russellville, and the Bulldogs downed the Badgers by 18 points, winning 64-46. Sheppard had another big game, scoring 23 points. Junior guard Ronin Stewart also reached double digits, adding 11 points.
Rounding out the scoring for the 'Dogs was Peyton Holt with seven points, along with Alec Armstrong and Zane Harmon adding six points each. Greenwood played consistently well throughout the game, winning all four quarters (16-13, 15-14, 17-10, 16-9).
H.B. Stewart Classic
Last week the Bulldogs faced Bentonville West, County Line, and Providence Academy on successive days in the tournament named after well-known former Greenwood coach and athletic director H.B. Stewart. The Bulldogs played hard, losing their opener by two points, but lost all three games.
Greenwood's first opponent was Bentonville West, in its first year of existence, and the Bulldogs led throughout the first half. After building a 12-6 advantage at the end of eight minutes, the GHS boys went up 23-11 early in the second period before holding on for a 27-22 lead at the break.
But the Wolverines closed the third quarter with a 13-4 run to take a 40-39 lead at the buzzer. They continued their run in the opening moments of the fourth period, building a 44-39 advantage before the Bulldogs tied the game with five consecutive free throws.
The game was tied at 46-all with 54 seconds remaining, and Greenwood held the ball offensively, calling a timeout just under the :10 mark. The Bulldogs took the ball inside, but missed the shot, fouling Bentonville on the rebound with just over two seconds left.
The Wolverines hit both free throws and Greenwood called a pair of timeouts, eventually in-bounding the ball along the sideline with 1.5 seconds remaining. A long pass to Alec Armstrong set up a decent three-point shot attempt from the corner, but the ball bounced off the iron as the buzzer sounded.
Jordan Sheppard continued to lead the team in scoring, netting 14 points in the loss. Alec Armstrong added 10 points.
After the disappointing loss, the Bulldogs faced the County Line Indians on day two of the tournament last Friday night, but found themselves trailing throughout the game after taking an early 4-0 lead. County Line led 15-12 after eight minutes and 26-20 at the intermission.
But a 14-6 scoring advantage by the Indians helped them to build a double digit margin after three periods, 40-26, and the Bulldogs could never mount a rally to get back into the game. Greenwood was outscored 16-9 over the final eight minutes, losing 56-35.
Senior forward Trevor Loveday led the squad with 10 points against the Indians, followed by Sheppard with nine points.
The tournament finale for Greenwood was late last Saturday afternoon against Springdale's Providence Christian Academy. The Patriots had a serious physical advantage over the guard-dominated Bulldogs' roster. At 6'-9", Providence center S.K. Shittu stood nearly half-a-foot higher than Greenwood's two tallest players.
Shittu netted 19 points to lead the Pats, but did most of his damage on defense and on the boards, altering shots and grabbing rebounds or tipping the ball away from the Bulldogs.
Greenwood was aggressive offensively, consistently driving the ball into the paint, but was unable to finish a number of shots or hit important free throws. The Bulldogs also faired poorly from the three-point line, though they took a limited number of long distance shots.
The first half was very close, with Providence holding narrow margins after each of the first two quarters. Trailing 17-16 after eight minutes, the Bulldogs tied the game at 20-all then 30-all before the Patriots scored late to take a 32-30 halftime lead.
But that two-point margin ballooned to 10 points after three periods. The Pats started the second half with a 10-3 scoring run, then hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. Greenwood then won the fourth and final stanza 16-15, but it was too little too late for the Bulldogs, who fell 63-54.
Jordan Sheppard led Greenwood in scoring with 18 points. Alec Armstrong added 13 points, and Zane Harmon scored six points.