Basketball: Springdale goes inside to pull away from Greenwood

SPRINGDALE -- Jeremy Price could be heard clearly in the gym after Springdale High's boys began to settle for outside jumpers in the second quarter.

"Get the ball inside," the Bulldogs coach yelled to his team after a string of misses.

Springdale 71, Greenwood 54

Greenwood 8 16 14 16 - 54

Springdale 16 17 19 19 - 71

Greenwood (1-1): Sheppard 15, Rice 14, Gaston 10, Christian 4, Hampton 3, Garnes 3, Stewart 3, Shown 3, Hesslen 1, Pitts 1.

Springdale (1-1): Fitch 15, Boyd 12, Scales 12, Donahoo 9, Coulter 8, Eckwood 7, Johnson 3, Jibke 3, Robinson 2.

Center Carl Fitch responded with three consecutive baskets near the rim, and Springdale went on to defeat Greenwood 71-54 in its home opener Tuesday night. Fitch finished with 15 points to lead the Bulldogs, who lost 58-52 in their season-opener at Republic, Mo., on Monday.

Springdale (1-1) and Greenwood (1-1) are hopeful of a turnaround after both teams finished with only seven victories last season. Springdale returns five players with varsity experience, and the Bulldogs added sophomore transfer Trentez Scales, who added 12 points Tuesday after he scored 20 in the loss at Republic, Mo.

Greenwood will benefit by the return of three starters who are still involved with the school's football team that will play Pine Bluff in the Class 6A state championship game on Friday. Those three, however, couldn't help when Greenwood fell behind 10-1 and 16-5 in the first quarter.

Greenwood reduced its sloppy play in the second quarter and pulled to within 18-13 after a driving layup by Jordan Sheppard. That's when Springdale went back to work, at the urging of its coach.

Fitch, a 6-foot-5 senior, scored inside, then tipped in consecutive misses by Jajuan Boyd and Marquis Donahoo.

"Sometimes we tend to fall in love with the 3-ball," Springdale coach Jeremy Price said. "Early in the season everybody wants to be the guy that gets the crowd on its feet. We've got a real good post man, and we've got to get it to him."

Keyon Johnson added a 3-pointer off the bench for Springdale, which led 33-24 at halftime. Springdale then used its pressure defense in the second half to rattle Greenwood and turn the game into a rout.

Springdale converted three steals in the backcourt into points, including a slam dunk by Fitch to put the Bulldogs ahead 47-30. Nick Coulter added a 3-pointer to the surge for Springdale, which led 52-38 after three quarters.

"We've got the most depth at our guard position, so we feel like it's to our advantage to pick up full court," Price said. "We want to apply pressure and create turnovers if possible."

Springdale will continue tournament action at Republic, Mo., Friday and Saturday before playing at Farmington on Tuesday.

Sports on 11/29/2017

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