After a very busy schedule last week, Head Coach B.J. Ross and his Bulldogs are battling their way through a four-game losing streak, hoping to turn things around this week with another slate of games against non-conference foes. Two of their four recent losses were close games that could have gone either way while the other two setbacks were by double digits.
The ‘Dogs have games this week against Beebe, Waldron, and Rogers Heritage. After Christmas they will play in the Billy Frye Classic tournament at Mansfield before hosting 6A Cabot on Friday, January 3rd. The Bulldogs will open 5A West league play the following Tuesday, January 7th, at home against Van Buren. The Greenwood boys are currently 3-5 overall.
Fort Smith Southside
On December 5th the Bulldogs improved their early season record to 3-1 with a 52-41 victory over the Mavericks of Fort Smith Southside. The game was played at H.B. Stewart Arena, and the hometown squad fell behind 11-7 after one period before rallying with a strong second stanza to lead 25-21 at halftime. An even stronger third quarter boosted the GHS lead to 40-26 before the Mavericks trimmed their final deficit to 11 points.
The winning Bulldogs shot just over 37% for the game, including 6-of-20 from beyond the three-point line. Greenwood scored 20 points in the paint and 17 points off Southside turnovers. Both teams grabbed 31 rebounds, and the GHS defense had eight steals to just two for the Mavericks, who had 18 turnovers compared to 10 for the Bulldogs.
Senior Jayden Garnes led the way offensively for Greenwood with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers and seven rebounds while playing all 32 minutes. Junior Blake Christiansen also reached double figures in scoring with 10 points, most of that coming on a trio of made shots beyond the arc. Sophomore Ty Holt added nine points in just 13 minutes off the bench, while also grabbing four rebounds, dishing out two assists and making two steals. Junior Hudson Clark contributed six points and senior Lane Philpot added two points. Senior Jack Scott grabbed eight defensive boards as well.
Mena Bearcats
After their win over the Mavericks, the present GHS slide began with a narrow 63-62 loss at Mena on December 10th, a game in which the visiting Bulldogs rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit. The hometown Bearcats jumped out to a double-digit lead after the first eight minutes, leading 24-13 at the buzzer. Greenwood slowed the bleeding in the second stanza but were still outscored 15-11 before adjourning for the halftime break, trailing 39-24.
But the GHS boys owned the second half, outscoring Mena 20-16 and 18-8 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. The visitors led 60-59 inside the final two minutes and missed two shots in the paint that could have increased that margin to three points. After Mena retook the lead at 61-60, senior Grant Karnes drove the baseline and banked one off the glass for Greenwood’s final lead at 62-61 with less than a minute remaining. But a pair of misses at the free throw line opened the door for the Bearcats to hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer on a drive down the lane.
The Bulldogs shot 37% for the game, including six of 28 from beyond the three-point line and just 42% from the free throw line. Greenwood scored 18 points off Mena turnovers and 36 points in the paint. The Bulldogs also won the rebound battle 41-34, led by Lane Philpot with 14 boards, the only Bulldog in double figures. Philpot also added seven points and nine assists. Eight Bulldogs chipped in with at least three points each, including a prominent pair of gridiron heroes who joined the team shortly after winning another state football championship the Saturday before.
Once again it was Jayden Garnes who led the way with 13 points, five boards, and seven assists. Grant Karnes, the GHS receiver who has an invitation to play football for the Razorbacks next season as a preferred walk-on, was next with 11 points and eight rebounds in just 14 minutes. Jack Scott added nine points on a trio of three-pointers while grabbing five boards, and Hudson Clark tallied seven points. Blake Christiansen netted six points, as did junior Kane Archer, who just set the national record for quarterback passing efficiency at 81.5% on the season. Ty Holt added three points.
Rogers Mounties
Last Thursday, December 12th, the Bulldogs opened play in the Arvest Hoopfest tournament at Rogers High School against the hometown Mounties. But the Greenwood boys forgot to bring their offense, stumbling their way through four quarters in which they failed to reach double digits in scoring for any period. The Bulldogs shot a horrendous 15.5%, hitting just nine total shots, including only two of 29 long distance attempts. Greenwood scored four, five, seven, and six points as Rogers used an 11-0 first half run to roll to a 49-22 victory.
In his second game after football season, Kane Archer led the Bulldogs in scoring with nine points plus three steals. Jayden Garnes added eight points with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Lane Philpot had nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Jack Scott grabbed four defensive boards and nabbed a trio of steals.
Springfield Parkview
On Friday the 13th the Bulldogs returned to Rogers to face the Parkview Vikings of Springfield, MO, still struggling to rediscover their offense with a slightly better shooting performance (27%), but were still outscored in all four quarters in a 55-42 loss. The Vikings won each period 15-13, 13-8, 18-15, and 9-6. The ‘Dogs sank eight two-point field goals and seven shots from beyond the arc.
Jack Scott broke out of his brief scoring slump to lead the team with 12 points, all on four three-point shots. He also grabbed nine rebounds and had a pair of steals. Jayden Garnes was next with nine points plus five assists. Kane Archer netted six points with three steals and Grant Karnes scored five points. Blake Christiansen and Hudson Clark had three points each. Clark also had four rebounds. Lane Philpot and Ty Holt had two points each. Philpot added five boards with three steals.
Russellville Cyclones
Greenwood closed out its participation in the Arvest tournament last Saturday with an early look at 5A West conference foe Russellville. The Cyclones outscored the Bulldogs 17-12 in the opening period and still clung to a 31-28 halftime advantage. Greenwood trimmed that margin further in the third period, outscoring Russellville 11-9. Behind by one point, 40-39, at the beginning of the fourth period, the Bulldogs trailed by five points with two minutes remaining
A layup by Grant Karnes and a three-pointer by Jayden Garnes helped Greenwood cut the margin to 53-51 before a late trey by the Cyclones pushed the lead back to five. With 20 seconds left, Kane Archer launched a three-pointer that took a fortunate bounce off the rim and the top of the backboard before finding the bottom of the net, making the score 56-54. A pair of Russellville free throws adjusted the final score to 58-54.
Russellville (49%) shot better than Greenwood (39%) and scored twice as many points (10) as the Bulldogs (5) from the free throw line. The ‘Dogs outscored the Cyclones 17-11 in points off turnovers but were outrebounded 33-21. Greenwood also won the turnover battle 15 to 22 and made 15 steals to 10 for Russellville.
Jayden Garnes had a big game for Greenwood with 22 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Jack Scott added nine points, six boards, and two steals. Blake Christiansen and Hudson Clark had seven points each with the former grabbing four rebounds and dishing out four steals. Kane Archer netted five points with six assists and a whooping seven steals. Grant Karnes added four points to round out the scoring. The Bulldogs and Cyclones will meet twice more during the regular season in conference play, beginning January 21st at Russellville.