It was Greenwood’s first trip to the Bill Frye Invitational, and the Bulldogs took home the hardware with a 58-43 win over the Hackett Hornets.
In Friday and Saturday action against Booneville and Heavener, the ‘Dogs started out fast then let up in the second period, then came out roaring after halftime. “It almost looks like my halftime speeches are unbelievable!” Head Coach B.J. Ross said after the 68-44 victory against Heavener on Saturday night. Senior Forward Jack Scott came out firing on all cylinders, netting 17 points in just the second half.
In the Championship game, Hackett would jump out on the Bulldogs early 8-2 before back-to-back baskets from Senior Grant Karnes and Junior Kane Archer. Archer’s basket coming off a turnaround jumper. At the end of the first period Greenwood led 18-13. Kane Archer had seven points at the end of the period, Grant Karnes with four points, Jack Scott with three points, and Jayden Garnes and Hudson Clark with 2 points.
Physical play filled up the second period of play, the Bulldogs were able to add to their lead outscoring the Hornets 8-3. With .3 seconds left, Sophomore Ty Holt fouled Hackett Senior Draden Best sending Best to the foul line for 3 shots. The Senior went 0-3 at the line as the buzzer sounded for halftime.
The physical style carried over into the second half with Hackett Hornets Hayden Foster and Matthew Rodgers going to the foul line going 3-4. Greenwood went on to score 8 unanswered points from Archer, Karnes, and Garnes. Greenwood’s swarming defense stifled the Hornets to just nine points, while the offense was able to hit another gear by putting up 14 points to put the lead at 40-25.
A nifty play from Kane Archer to Grant Karnes opened the fourth period with an Archer pass to a leaping Karnes for the basket. The Hornet offense would not stop as they rattled off eight unanswered points themselves with baskets from Juniors Kanon Fisher and Matthew Garner. Down 17 at the start of the fourth period, Hackett pulled within nine points trading baskets back and forth with their Sebastian County neighbor Greenwood. Hackett tried to slow the Bulldogs down using the foul line where Greenwood went 4-10 on four consecutive trips. A foul than a technical foul on Hackett had Jayden Garnes attempting four shots on one trip. Despite a run late, Greenwood was able to pull out the win 58-43.
Senior Grant Karnes earned the Tournament MVP for his effort on the night with 14-points and a double-double.
“It’s a big deal for these kids. That’s what I keep getting lost in.” Head Coach B.J. Ross said after the win. “I have got to understand that it is a big deal. Because it’s been a while since they’ve won eight.” While the Bulldogs have seen quite a bit of success on the football field, they have not always translated to the basketball court. This is the fastest the Bulldogs have reached 8 wins since the 2017-2018 season, when Greenwood reached 8 wins by January 2nd, 2018. That season they went 16-13. 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 the Bulldogs had 9 wins and 11 win seasons.
“Great environment, that’s what these kids, that’s what they enjoy.”
Greenwood has one more non-conference game against Cabot on Friday before the conference play starts on January 7th against Van Buren. It will be back-to-back home games for the Bulldogs. The Lady Bulldogs will be facing Bryant on Friday at home as well.
