A 3-POINTER FROM THE BASELINE.
GATORS EARN SEVENTH WIN IN EIGHT GAMES; GREENWOOD GIRLS TURN BACK SPARTANS, 59-48
Greenwood High School’s boys basketball team made the short roadie across town to tangle with a familiar opponent on Thursday night.
The Spartans of South Warren High School.
South Warren had lost just twice, since Christmas Day, and sophomore point guard Brandon Jenkins, aka ‘Junior,’ missed one of those games, a 59-57 road loss to Breckenridge County, under the concussion protocol.
Plus, the Spartans had slayed a pretty serious dragon, albeit not the Warren Central Dragons, ranked sixth in the state by the Courier-Journal with a legitimate college prospect in 6-foot-8 junior center Armani Byrd.
Greenwood, meanwhile, was flying under the radar, a solid group with a lot of new faces.
The Gators built some momentum on Tuesday night, knocking off Franklin-Simpson, 72-59, at The Swamp. Senior forward Isaiah Summers was averaging 17 points per game. But Greenwood needed a major boost, moving into the second half of its KHSAA 14th District schedule, and the Spartans were lying in wait.
No problem.
Greenwood 75, South Warren 55.
SCORES INSIDE AGAINST THE SPARTANS.
AGAINST JAX DECKER ON THE PERIMETER.
IS FLANKED BY GATORS TEAMMATES
ETHAN YORK (LEFT) AND KASH SAMPSON.
LIKE THE GROWTH OF THIS TEAM …’
LOOKS FOR A PATH TO THE BASKET
AGAINST THE GATORS’ ETHAN YORK.
Meanwhile, across town, Bowling Green High School was striking for an upset of Warren Central, a 69-65 overtime victory at the BGHS Arena. Now, EVERYONE in the 14th District has at least one loss. All of which means …
“The district is wide open,” South Warren guard Owen Shively said Friday afternoon.
The game was moved up one day, as the Commonwealth prepares for a major winter storm expected to hit early Saturday morning. The Spartans were still without Junior Perkins, their offensive catalyst in the half-court game.
The Gators were quick to capitalize.
Greenwood, which has won seven of its last eight games, improved to 16-4 overall and 2-2 in district play. The Spartans, meanwhile, dropped to 13-5 overall and 2-2 in the district, heading into next week’s visit to mighty Warren Central.
(South Warren is scheduled to tangle with Logan County on Tuesday, in a home game, but that could change over the next couple days …)
“I really like the growth of this team,” Greenwood coach Will McCoy said when it was over, a tired daughter resting on his shoulder. “With every loss we’ve had, we’ve taken something from it.
“We took their best punch, but our guys didn’t look rattled. We had a balanced scoring night. That’s when we’re at our best.”
AGAINST THE SPARTANS’ BRAYDEN KENNEDY.
IMPROVED TO 16-4 OVERALL WITH THE WIN.
AGAINST THE SPARTANS’ CADEN McINTYRE.
Greenwood swingman Martell Tuttle, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound junior, led his team with 19 points. Isaiah Summers, one of three seniors on the Gators’ roster, finished with 17 points. Sophomore forward Ethan York showed some range from 3-point land and scored 14 points. Teammates Brayden Kennedy and Kash Sampson, both juniors, added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
“We’re not scared of anybody,” Tuttle said. “We wanted to run the floor and take it … When we see somebody gettin’ hot, that’s the way we’re going to go …”
The Gators have firepower inside, but they’re particularly skilled from the 3-point line. Greenwood pulled away in the final three minutes of the first quarter, and once the Gators were in front, they were intent on keeping it that way.
“We know we couild have been playing for the ‘2-3 game’ (in next month’s district tournament),” Sampson said. “We went out there and said to ourselves, ‘Step on it. Don’t let up.'”
That wasn’t going to happen in this game. York and Kennedy riddled the Spartans from 3-point range, and Tuttle and Summers can score in various ways.
Senior guard Owen Shively led the Spartans with 22 points, while teammate Johan Pratt finished with 16. Junior Perkins’ absence was noticeable, but Carlos Quarles, South’s fourth-year head coach, wasn’t looking for any excuses.
“They shot lights out,” Quarles said. “They were on top of their game. We had some defensive lapses, and they took advantage of it. Junior’s our ‘general,’ he affects the game on both ends of the floor … We’re a little shorthanded, but that’s going to happen, over a long season.
“We’re still in the running for the (district tournament) ‘2-3 game.'”
‘THEY SHOT THE LIGHTS OUT …’
AGAINST THE SPARTANS’ JOHAN PRATT.
AVERAGES 17 POINTS PER GAME.
DRIVES AGAINST SOUTH’s OWEN SHIVELY.
That seemed to be the theme of the night, as Greenwood coach Will McCoy was quick to acknowledge.
“This is an unselfish bunch. They just want to win,” McCoy said. “The win tonight puts us in the driver’s seat (for the ‘2-3 game’). We’ve got to go out next week and take care of business at Bowling Green …”
Meanwhile, just a few miles away, BGHS senior Christian Muhire was scoring a season-high 23 points, leading the Purples to the OT victory over Warren Central.
Stay tuned.
FINISHED THE GAME WITH 16 POINTS.
GRABS A SECOND-HALF REBOUND.
IN EVENING ITS RECORD AT 9-9 OVERALL.
GREENWOOD GIRLS 59, SOUTH WARREN 48
Freshman guard Anzlee Hendrix struck for 14 points, leading a balanced Lady Gators scoring attack in the victory over the homestanding Spartans.
Greenwood went on a 14-2 run, late in the first half, to take a four-point lead into the locker room. South Warren stayed within striking distance, for most of the second half, but Hendrix, senior forward Ava Morrison and sophomore forward Molly Spidel, along with the rest of the Lady Gators, finished the task at hand.
Morrison and Spidel each finished with 13 points for Greenwood (9-9 overall, 3-1 in the KHSAA’s 14th District) while teammate Molly Tandy added 11.
South Warren (5-14 overall, 1-3 in district play) was led by JaNya Anderson’s 12 points.
THE SPARTANS WITH 12 POINTS.
HAD PLENTY TO CHEER ABOUT.
IS NO FAN OF THE COLD WEATHER.