A tough loss to Bowling Green on Monday meant that the Gators needed a big win on Friday to split their first two district games of the season…and they got it.
Coach Jordan Carter’s squad took the court in a hostile environment away from home and pulled out a convincing 55-46 win against a South Warren.
Where the Spartans failed to come out of the gates swinging Greenwood started throwing haymakers as they jumped out to the early lead, and never looked back.
Sophomore Guard Noah Nash was the spark plug for the Gators in the early going, scoring 5 of his 8 points in the first quarter, including a huge three ball that set the tone for Greenwood.
South Warren went without the services of Dayton Gumm for the entire first quarter, much to the chagrin of Spartan fans and the delight of Greenwood fans.
Jaxson Smith started in his place and ran the point along with Chandler Stephanski for most of the first quarter, but foul trouble limited just how effective the junior could be.
By the time Dayton Gumm set foot on the court, Greenwood had already established a 7 point lead and the South Warren Star had a tough time trying to establish himself during the first half.
Greenwood took a 28 20 lead into the intermission.
The second half saw a much closer game unfold, and Greenwood turned to it’s start players to preserve their lead. After South Warren scored the first bucket of the second half, Dawson Crump and Stephen Sanders went to work pounding the South Warren defense with buckets down low and from midrange, throw in a couple of 3’s from Scotty Harris and a huge momentum shifting three from Bradley Burgess (who saw limited minuets tonight) and you can see how Coach Carter’s halftime strategy session panned out.
But South Warren wouldn’t lie down.
The Spartans battle back to within three at the end of the third quarter, and then tied the game in the fourth, but they never did take the lead away from Greenwood.
A swift 8 point run help secure the lead in the fourth quarter and Greenwood never looked back.
The Gators improve to 4-4 on the season and 1-1 in District 14, avenging their loss against Bowling Green.
Stephen Sanders was named Player of the Game finishing with 11 points and dominating the glass during key portions of the game.
Dawson Crump finished with 12 points and Scotty Harris, Bradley Burgess, and Caleb Miller all finished with 6 points on the night.
Next for the Gators is Allen County Scottsville in the Lindsey Wilson College Classic being played in Adair County.
