With just one week left in the regular season, the Greenwood Bulldogs have nothing left to play for except pride, after being eliminated from the Class 6A playoff picture. But the ‘Dogs remained tough and resolute to the end, fighting hard and playing well against Russellville last Friday night, their last chance to win a 6A game and force a possible tie with Siloam Springs.
That possibility existed only because the GHS boys earlier defeated Siloam Springs for their first and only 6A conference victory. In-between, they also lost to Class 6A Alma and Class 7A Conway. The ‘Dogs will finish their season this week with games at home (Tuesday) against Van Buren and Friday at Little Rock Catholic. Tuesday’s results were not available at press time.
Russellville
After Greenwood managed to keep the game close through three-plus quarters, the Cyclones scored 17 points over the final six minutes to pull away for the 66-51 win.
Junior Dustin Lunsford had perhaps his best game of the season with 21 points for Greenwood. Grant Morgan, another junior, also played one of his best games and added 11 points.
After a 15-15 first quarter, Russellville led 29-25 at the intermission, and 47-39 after three quarters. Lunsford’s fifth three-pointer of the game brought Greenwood to within five points, 49-44, with 6:53 remaining. But the Cyclones pulled away with a timely 7-0 run, to take a 60-46 lead with 2:47 left.
“I thought our guys fought to the very end. We had a good game plan and the kids executed it well. [Russellville] was just a little too much for us. They got a lead and spread us out, and they were just a little too quick for us. But I thought we gave them our best shot, and that’s all you can ask for. We’re definitely a better team than when we played them back in December and January.”
At Alma
A poor offensive performance in the first quarter doomed the Bulldogs to yet another road loss in conference play. After scoring just four points in the opening period, Greenwood trailed 14-4 after eight minutes and 30-16 at the half.
Dustin Lunsford hit a three-pointer to open the second half for Greenwood, but the Airedales went on a 14-4 run to lead 44-23 with 2:00 left in the third quarter. The period ended with the home team on top, 49-32, with eight minutes remaining to play.
Greenwood’s Luke Hales hit his third three-pointer of the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs made a run, cutting their deficit to 56-45 with 3:52 left, but the effort was too little too late.
“[Hales] hit some threes that kept them going, or we were going to put them away,” said Alma Head Coach Stan Flenor.
“They came out in a man-to-man, and we got in the paint, got some easy shots, and got to the foul line. Our guys really shared the ball, offensively.” Alma was 23 of 39 from the foul line.
Hales had his best game offensively, leading Greenwood with 16 points, hitting four of the Bulldogs’ 10 three-pointers. Sophomore Alec Armstrong scored 11 points, while Hunter Johnston and Dustin Lunsford scored nine and eight points, respectively.
At Conway
On February 13th the GHS boys traveled to Conway to take on the Wampus Cats, who came out red hot from three-point range, and the offensively challenged Bulldogs were never able to recover, losing on the road, 62-31.
The struggling Bulldogs trailed 35-18 at the break, and 50-25 after three quarters. The mercy rule went into effect over the final four minutes, helping to shorten the duration of the contest. For the game, the GHS boys averaged just under eight points per period.
Siloam Springs
Needing a win in the worst way, the Bulldogs scored one point less than they would against Conway, but somehow managed to defeat Siloam Springs, 30-27, and temporarily keep their hopes alive for a post-season berth. That hope vanished with Greenwood’s loss to Russellville.
The Bulldogs went nearly 13 minutes in the middle of the game without a point against Siloam Springs, but scored 18 points in the final 11:30 to pull out the 30-27 win over Siloam Springs. It was the Bulldogs’ first 6A conference victory of the season.
After wasting a 10-2 first period advantage, the ‘Dogs hit a pair of three-pointers in a span of 26 seconds to claim a 19-17 lead with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter. Ryan Padilla’s trey cut the lead to 17-15, and Luke Hales buried another bomb after a Siloam Springs turnover to give the Bulldogs a slim 18-17 lead. Devin Gilbert’s free throw put the Bulldogs ahead 19-17 after three periods.
“We switched our offense in the third quarter and went on a 7-0 run, and got our confidence back,” said Greenwood Head Coach Brian Martin. “We hit a three-pointer, got fouled, and hit another three-pointer, so it was like a six-point possession.”
The Panthers later went up 22-19, but Luke Hales’ third trey and Giovanni Germana’s bucket put the Bulldogs back on top, 24-22. Another bucket by Germana put Greenwood ahead for good, and two free throws stretched the Bulldogs’ lead to 28-24.
“The pace was to our liking,” Martin said. “The kids executed our game play perfectly.” The coach was referring to the deliberate, slow down style employed by both teams.
For Greenwood, the underclassmen led the way offensively. Sophomore Luke Hales had nine points, while sophomore Dylan Hughes and junior exchange student Giovanni Germana each added six points in the victory.