In his second year as Greenwood’s head coach, B.J. Ross and his Bulldogs have already won more than twice as many games (12) as they did last season (5). The program’s improvement is a welcome change after more than a decade of struggle under a series of head coaches and coincides with the arrival of two star football players in mid-December who quickly became starters on the hardcourt.
But Greenwood’s 12-5 start should be taken with a healthy dose of salt due to the strength of the 5A West conference this season. The Bulldogs have won three of their five conference games in the early going and hope to compete for one of the four postseason playoff slots allotted to the league. They travel to Harrison on Tuesday for a makeup game, then go to Mountain Home on Friday, their two toughest and longest road trips of the season.
Van Buren at Greenwood
The Bulldogs opened conference play at home on Tuesday, January 7th, with a narrow come-from-behind victory over the Van Buren Pointers, 43-41. After getting off to a good start, winning the first quarter, 17-12, the GHS offense sputtered through the middle two periods, scoring only six points in each period. They led 23-20 at the half, but trailed by five, 34-29, after three quarters. But junior Kane Archer led an offensive resurgence in the final eight minutes to spark the Greenwood comeback, winning the fourth quarter, 14-7, and the game by two points.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well. The Pointers shot 32% while the Bulldogs hit just over 30% of their shots. The GHS boys hit only a trio of three-pointers, but the last one by Kane Archer was key to sparking Greenwood’s late run. The Bulldogs got to the free throw line more than three times as much as the visitors, making 14 of 23 charity shots. Rebounding was almost even while Van Buren won the turnover battle and had 10 steals to only three for the home team.
Senior Jayden Garnes led the ‘Dogs in scoring with 17 points with six rebounds. Kane Archer was next with 13 points, about half of those points coming in the fourth quarter. He also had eight defensive rebounds and two steals. Lane Philpot had five points, Ty Holt and Jack Scott had three points each, and Hudson Clark netted two points at the line and had five rebounds. Grant Karnes didn’t score but crashed the boards for eight rebounds.
After the opening conference victory, Coach Ross talked about the win and his players. “I don’t think we subbed the last quarter and a half. We stayed with the same five and we found a rhythm and started communicating a little better on defense.” The Bulldogs held the Pointers scoreless for five minutes in the fourth quarter, allowing the home offense to catch up.
Asked about Kane Archer’s role in the comeback, the coach said, “He sparked the whole thing. He hit a huge three and he’s such a competitor. Him and Grant [Karnes] both.” Ross also credited the defensive play of Hudson Clark in the second half. Finally, the coach pointed out that the last time Greenwood beat Van Buren at any level in basketball in grades 7-12 was when this year’s seniors were freshmen.
Greenwood at Alma
After Greenwood’s trip to Harrison on January 10th was cancelled due to a major winter storm that covered the state, the following Tuesday the Bulldogs traveled to Alma for their second conference game, winning 45-34. While neither squad lit up the scoreboard, the visitors managed to score in double digits in all four quarters for the 11-point victory. Greenwood led 10-8 after one period and 21-10 at the half. The ‘Dogs increased their lead to 31-18 after three periods.
The visitors hit 39% of their shots while holding Alma to just 24%. However, the Bulldogs missed all 11 of their three-point attempts and Alma missed all 13 of their long-range shots. Greenwood outscored Alma in transition, 14 to 1, and narrowly won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Airedales 30 to 24. The Bulldogs also won the rebounding war, 36 to 31.
Five players scored for Greenwood, led by Jayden Garnes with 20 points, followed by Kane Archer with 11 points plus three rebounds and three assists. Grant Karnes added six points with 15 rebounds. Lane Philpot also had six points with seven boards and four steals. Hudson Clark added two points.
Farmington at Greenwood
The Bulldogs’ second home conference game was against league newcomer Farmington on Friday, Janaury 17th, promoted from Class 4A to 5A since last season. The Cardinals had an obvious size advantage and jumped out to an 18-5 lead after the opening quarter, holding Greenwood to just two of 14 shooting. The visitors led 36-14 at halftime and never looked back, holding a 55-27 edge after three quarters in route to a 23-point victory, 69-46.
The Cardinals shot 41% compared to 31% for the Bulldogs and hit six three-pointers to just three for Greenwood. The visitors won the battle of the boards, 44 to 36, and protected the ball well, giving up just nine turnovers. Farmington had three players score in double figures compared to just one for the Bulldogs. Jayden Garnes netted 16 points with four rebounds and two assists. Seven other Bulldogs scored points. Kane Archer had seven points, Grant Karnes scored six points as did Hudson Clark, while Ty Holt added four points. Elijah Nolan and Micah Cowart both scored three points and Lane Philpot one point. Karnes also had nine rebounds while Holt nabbed eight boards.
Greenwood at Russellville
This past Tuesday, Coach Ross, Coach Lensing, and their players trekked to Pope County to take on the Cyclones, a traditional 5A West basketball power. The contest turned out to be an offensive shootout after a slow start by the home team. The Bulldogs led 15-9 after eight minutes and scored in double digits in all four quarters. Greenwood led 31-27 at the half and 49-47 after three periods. But the Cyclones exploded for 27 points in the fourth quarter to overtake the visitors and win going away, 74-65.
Both teams shot the ball well with Russellville making 58% of their shots compared to Greenwood’s 47%. The Bulldogs hit six of 19 three-point attempts, twice as many as the home team. But the Cyclones bested the Bulldogs at the free throw line, hitting 21 of 25 attempts. Greenwood made 12 of 16 charity shots. Russellville outscored the visitors in the paint, 42 to 32, while the Bulldogs led in rebounding, 26 to 22.
In a rare offensive performance, senior Grant Karnes led the visitors in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting while also grabbing eight rebounds. Kane Archer added 18 points, including a pair of three-pointers, with three boards, seven assists, and two steals. Jayden Garnes netted nine points with five assists and two steals. Jack Scott also had nine points, all on treys, while Lane Philpot had four points and five rebounds, Hudson Clark three points, and Ty Holt one point.
Siloam Springs at Greenwood
Last Friday, the Bulldogs hosted the Panthers of Siloam Springs and the home team won three of the four quarters on their way to a 56-45 conference victory. Despite being outshot by the visitors, 43% to 36%, the GHS boys used 11 three-pointers to help make up the difference. They were 11 of 31 from behind the arc, led by Jayden Garnes and Jack Scott with four treys each.
Greenwood led 16-12 after one period and 33-20 at the half. They struggled in the third quarter, scoring just seven points, allowing the Panthers to close the gap to 40-35 after three periods. The Bulldogs then closed out the victory with 16 points in the fourth stanza. The home team made four treys in each of the first two quarters and three more in the second half. The two teams were even in rebounding with 30 each and nearly even in most other stats.
Garnes led the team in scoring with 20 points plus four rebounds and six assists. Scott was next with 14 points plus three boards. Ty Holt and Grant Karnes both scored seven points with Karnes crashing the boards for 10 rebounds while Holt had four boards and three steals. Lane Philpot netted four points with five assists and three steals. Hudson Clark and Kane Archer had two points each. Archer had three rebounds and three assists.