It’s been a long, hard journey, but the Greenwood Bulldogs under Head Coach Donnie Husband have finally reached their destination – a berth in the 2022 state basketball tournament. The GHS boys earned the #4 seed from the 5A West after last Saturday's exciting win over the Greenbrier Panthers at H.B. Stewart Arena. The ‘Dogs will play Little Rock Parkview in the opening round of the playoffs on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The game will be live streamed on the internet by Greenwood Sports Center.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with an 11-17 record, but 7-7 in conference play after winning their last three games over Mountain Home, Alma, and Greenbrier. Saturday’s contest, originally slated for Friday night, was moved back to Saturday afternoon due to the wintry weather conditions and travel concerns last week.
Coach Husband is in his fourth season at Greenwood after a long and successful career in Oklahoma, including a pair of state championships in the Sooner state. But it’s been a difficult task getting the Bulldogs to this point after taking over a program that’s had only one winning season in almost a decade. There has been incremental progress every year under Coach Husband, with win totals gradually increasing to double digits the past two seasons, but getting to the postseason has always been the real measure of success, and the ‘Dogs finally got it done.
But their next task may be even more daunting, finding a way to beat the Parkview Patriots (23-3, 14-0), historically one of the top basketball schools in the state across all classifications. The Pats have been ranked among the state’s top ten best teams all season. Still, just getting to the playoffs for the first time since 2018 is a big accomplishment for a team that has worked so hard and waited so long to be rewarded. The nine seniors on the roster will likely never forget this season.
But it would not have been possible to clinch a playoff spot against Greenbrier had the Bulldogs not taken care of business against Mountain Home and Alma. With three games left in the conference season, Greenwood sat at 4-7 in league play, needing to win out to assure themselves of a postseason slot, and that’s just what they did, but not without a huge scare.
Mountain Home
The three-win Bombers (3-20) arrived at H.B. Stewart Arena on February 18th having already lost at home to Greenwood on January 21st, so the visitors had nothing to lose, and they played like it through most of the first half, building a 20-point lead over the stunned Bulldogs. But with their postseason fate hanging in the balance, the ‘Dogs clawed their way back to pull off an improbable and inspiring come-from-behind victory, 53-50.
It seemed that Mountain Home couldn’t miss in the first quarter, hitting shot after shot while building a 14-0 lead over the first three-plus minutes. Coach Husband called two timeouts before his troops finally responded with a bucket off the glass by junior Aiden Kennon, who also scored Greenwood’s second basket. Senior Jay Wright added an old fashioned three-point play and the visitors led 19-7 after one period.
But the onslaught by Mountain Home continued early in the second quarter, taking advantage of Greenwood’s porous interior defense. A Bomber’s three-pointer made the score 27-7 at the 5:23 mark before the tide began to turn. Greenwood then scored 13 of the next 15 points, including the last 11 of the half to cut their deficit to just nine points at 27-20.
With the score 31-24 early in the third stanza, Mountain Home hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to temporarily go back up by double-digits, 36-24. But a triple by sophomore L.J. Robins, a rebound and putback by Kennon, and another putback by Robins had the Bulldogs right back in the game down 36-31.
Trailing 38-31 moments later, senior sharpshooter Sam Forbus launched the first of two successive three-pointers that narrowed the gap to just one point, 38-37, with 1:30 left in the period. Forbus then made a steal and drove to the basket for a layup, giving Greenwood it’s first lead at 39-38 after three quarters.
But the Bombers weren’t done yet, and scored the first four points of the fourth period to retake the lead, 42-39. At the 5:00 mark the visitors still led, 44-41, just before senior Parker Gill grabbed an offensive rebound and scored and Sam Forbus stripped the ball and drove for another layup, putting the ‘Dogs back on top, 45-44.
Over the final three minutes Greenwood got critical three-pointers from Jay Wright and L.J. Robins and a pair of free throws by Aiden Kennon, whose charity shots came with just under 10 seconds remaining on the clock, putting Greenwood ahead by their winning margin of 53-50. When the final buzzer sounded, a jubilant group of Bulldogs celebrated an amazing comeback victory.
In the win, Aiden Kennon led the way offensively with 18 points, followed by Sam Forbus with 12, L.J. Robins with eight, Parker Gill with seven, and Jay Wright with six. Largely frustrated in the first half, Forbus scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Robins scored all his points in the second half.
After the game, Coach Husbands summarized the first 12 minutes of the contest for his team. “Nothing was very good. At the point of attack, we just weren’t very physical. We missed wide open shots. We weren’t fighting through screens hard enough. We weren’t helping each other. We weren’t rotating. We just got bullied early. We were just flat. We’ve spent so much energy getting to this point, that’s one of the things you worry about. Sometimes it’s just hard to turn it on. But we started fighting and the next thing you know we’re back in the ballgame.”
A change in strategy and personnel was part of the comeback formula. “We went to a full court defense and tried getting after them, and I thought Parker [Gill] made a big difference physically. He’s probably got fresher legs. He’s a strong kid and really competitive. He made a difference, and we found a sense of urgency.”
Gill subbed in for starter Peyton Presson, who was playing with a bruised knee, and his arrival coincided with the Bulldogs’ change in fortune. Mountain Home also had two starters who were 6’5”, presenting something of a defensive challenge for the much shorter Bulldogs.
“In the third quarter we got several stops in a row and both of L.J.’s threes were really timely,” said the coach of his sophomore guard. “Those were big baskets for us. Sam [Forbus] also made two or three great steals and we got runouts and easy baskets. In the second half his defense was unbelievable.”
Alma
Three days later the Bulldogs traveled to Crawford County and got revenge on the Alma Airedales, who had beaten them earlier in the season at H.B. Stewart Arena, Greenwood’s only loss to a conference team not from Russellville, Siloam Springs, and Vilonia. In that earlier contest the Airedales probably played their best game of the season, according to Coach Husband, who had scouted several of their games on video. Greenwood lost that contest, 61-53.
But the second time around was a different story, though the Airedales did lead 12-7 after one quarter. The Bulldogs had trouble finding their offense early, trailing 5-0 and 7-1, before getting their rhythm. Greenwood rallied in the second period to pull ahead on the strength of a 10-0 run to end the half. The visitors led 26-18 at the break and continued to pull away in the second half. They led 45-28 after three quarters, eventually winning by 30 points, 67-37.
Unofficially, Sam Forbus had 17 points to lead the team, along with four rebounds and five steals. Aiden Kennon added a dozen points, eight boards, and two assists, while Peyton Presson scored five points, but grabbed six rebounds and added a pair of assists. Defensively, the Bulldogs held the Airedales to just 19 points in the second half.
Greenbrier
Last Saturday’s regular season and conference finale at home against the Panthers was also senior day for the Bulldogs, who will be graduating ten seniors in May. They were honored along with their family members prior to the girls’ game earlier that afternoon. Those seniors included players Jay Wright, Joe Russell, Sam Forbus, Josh Terry, Chayce Blankenship, Micah Lensing, Chase Beshears, Parker Gill, and Lance Marek, along with team manager Mason Harmon.
The game itself was a winner-take-all affair. Greenwood held a one game lead over Greenbrier in the league standings, but a loss by the Bulldogs would have dropped them into a tie with the Panthers, who had the advantage in the tiebreaker. Simply put, a win was needed by both teams to qualify for the state tournament with the loser’s season coming to an end.
Knowing what was on the line, and with the added emotion of senior day and a nice Saturday afternoon crowd, the Bulldogs came out with a clear focus and intensity, quickly building a double-digit lead, 26-11, after eight minutes. But just when it seemed the game might get away from them, the Panthers rallied with an 8-0 run to start the second period, forcing Coach Husband to call a timeout to halt Greenbrier’s momentum. The two teams then maintained the status quo until halftime, with Greenwood leading, 33-27.
The Bulldogs started off cold in the third period, missing several early shot attempts, but Greenbrier didn’t fare much better and couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Greenwood led by 10 points late in the quarter before the Panthers hit a pair of free throws to cut the margin back to eight, 43-35.
With the fate of their season on the line, the Bulldogs came out hot in the fourth period. Peyton Presson scored on a putback, Aiden Kennon on a driving layup, and Sam Forbus on another layup as the ‘Dogs moved their lead back to double figures at 49-38, prompting a Greenbrier timeout. But it was too late for the visitors as Greenwood continued to apply pressure offensively, building the lead to 15 and then to 21 at 67-46 in the final minutes.
With the game in hand, Coach Husband pulled his starters and allowed his non-starting seniors to be on the floor as the final seconds ran out on the victory, including Lance Marek, who has been injured for the past several weeks, much to the delight of the GHS student section. When the buzzer sounded, the Bulldogs celebrated their victory, 69-51, and their berth in the 2022 state playoffs.
Offensively, Greenwood had one of its best performances of the season, led by four double-digit scorers. Sam Forbus had one of his best games of the season with 26 points, followed by Peyton Presson with 15 points, Aiden Kennon with 12, and Jay Wright with 10.
Talking about the victory in his post-game interview with the media, Coach Husband said, “Getting off to such a great start was a big part of it. It gave us confidence. Sam [Forbus] was really good to start with and Jay [Wright] hit a couple big shots. But we’ve been in that situation before and didn’t do anything the rest of the game. I just thought we got tentative. We’re not used to playing with that kind of a lead.
“The third quarter started off a little slow, but after that we got going. We also made a lot of defensive plays down the stretch. That’s what we’ve had the last couple weeks. We’ve had five, six, or seven guys that have really contributed a lot. We’ve been getting three and four double figure scorers,” said the coach.
Asked about making the playoffs, Husband said, “I’ve been a few times in Oklahoma. But we started the season thinking at worst we could be the fourth seed. We knew we had to win all those games against teams like us. We had to get off the deck, down 20 points against Mountain Home. The two Van Buren games were plays at the end. But we’ve gained some confidence the last couple weeks. Offensively, we’ve played pretty darn good the last two games. We’re a lot different team than we were a month ago.”
As for taking on the mighty Patriots on Tuesday, the coach spoke candidly. “We know what a monumental task that is, but we’re still on the bus going. We’re just going to enjoy this one. Some of these guys played on a 1-13 conference team. They played in this game when it meant nothing. This is a tremendous compliment to them. They stuck it out and lived through the bad times, and they kept working and believing in what we were doing, and today was the confirmation of all that.
“It won’t be a lot of Xs and Os come Tuesday,” he continued. “It will be more a style we have to play. Obviously, we’re going to have to handle their press, and really be strong with the ball. We’re going to have to rebound bigger than we are. There are a hundred things we’re going to have to do. But we’ll cross that bridge tomorrow. I know one thing; our kids will fight and represent our school and community really well and give everything they have. If that’s not enough, then we’ll know we fought the good fight.”
Regarding the importance of making the playoffs for the future of his program, he said, “It's [no longer] like a distant dream. Next year we might not be talking about the fourth spot, but something else. We lose some guys that are really good, but we have some guys coming back that we think can really help us. We’ll put it all together this summer and get it started. But success breeds success and you gain a lot of confidence.”