PREP BASKETBALL: Defense carries Panthers past Greenwood

SILOAM SPRINGS -- Siloam Springs leaned on its defense Tuesday night.

The Panthers struggled some on offense, but they set the tone early defensively by holding Greenwood to just two points in the first quarter.

That allowed the Panthers to get out to an early comfortable lead that they maintained the rest of the way before pulling away for a 52-34 win inside Panther Activity Center.

Siloam Springs boys basketball coach Tim Stewart lamented the Panthers' struggles on offense, but had nothing but praise for his defense.

"Fortunately our defense was good enough where they really struggled to score," Stewart said. "So you always had a comfortable lead. We're still waiting for that breakout game where we play on both ends a level of basketball we know we're capable of. The kids' attitudes are good. They're working hard. We know that's coming. Tonight we were pretty solid on defense and average on offense."

Siloam Springs (7-8, 2-2 5A-West) led 9-2 after the first quarter and 21-12 at halftime before taking a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter.

A brief Greenwood (3-13, 0-4) run, sparked by baskets from Jayce Garnes, cut the Panthers' lead to seven. Siloam Springs recovered in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Stewart's basket, followed by buckets from Landon Ward and Evan Sauer got the lead back up to 40-28. Karson Clement hit a 3-pointer in the corner for a 15-point lead and Siloam Springs would lead by as many as 19.

Ward finished with 15 points to lead Siloam Springs, while Murphy Perkins had 10. Garnes led Greenwood with eight points.

Greenwood^2^10^13^9^--^34

Siloam Springs^9^12^13^18^--^52

Greenwood (3-13, 0-4): Garnes 8, Stone 6, Gaston 6, Johnson 4, Hampton 3, Bartlett 2, Stein 2, Ligon 2, Christian 1.

Siloam Springs (7-8, 2-2): Ward 15, Perkins 10, Clement 7, Vachon 6, Sauer 6, Stewart 6, Wakefield 2.

Girls

Greenwood 66, Siloam Springs 38

Kinley Fisher got Greenwood off to a hot start, hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Lady Bulldogs got out to a big lead early.

"Fisher came out and hit some shots for us early," said Greenwood interim coach Matt Bryant. "It wasn't just about her hitting the shots. I think some girls made some great passes to her to get those shots."

Greenwood (10-6, 2-2) led 20-6 after the first quarter and Kyiah Julian hit a pair of treys in the second quarter as the Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead 35-19 at halftime. Greenwood led 44-23 going into the fourth quarter.

Fisher finished with 16 points for Greenwood, while Maggie Rozell scored 10 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter. Shea Goodwin added 10 points for Greenwood.

Chloe Price led Siloam Springs (6-11, 3-1) with 16 points, while Jadyn Still had nine.

Greenwood^20^15^9^22^--^66

Siloam Springs^6^13^4^15^--^38

Greenwood (10-6, 2-2): Fisher 16, Rozell 13, Goodman 10, Julian 8, Stein 6, Glass 5, Sockey 4, Terry 2, Clements 2.

Siloam Springs (6-11, 3-1): Price 16, Still 9, Hevener 6, Harried 5, Moorman 2.

Sports on 01/16/2019

Upcoming Events