For the second time this season, the Siloam Springs boys watched a big lead against Greenwood disappear.
But just like the first time, the Panthers responded in the right way and recovered to defeat the Bulldogs 57-48 in a 5A/6A District 1 game Friday inside Panther Activity Center.
It was the second straight win for Siloam Springs (7-13, 2-4), which also won at Russellville on Tuesday.
The Panthers seemed well on their way to a comfortable win on Friday after building a 38-23 lead on Greenwood in the third quarter. The Bulldogs answered with an 18-3 run that spanned into the fourth quarter to tie the game at 41, but Siloam Springs outscored Greenwood 16-7 over the final 5 minutes, 56 seconds to earn the victory.
"We're pleased in a lot of ways," said Siloam Springs head coach Tim Stewart. "We want to get better. But at the end of the day, they tied it and our kids showed tremendous poise, scoring and hitting free throws down the stretch. The character of our kids ... we mess up, but the character and the foundation is really, really good. They're going to keep fighting."
It wasn't all that different a scenario when Siloam Springs and Greenwood played on Dec. 30 in the seventh-place game of the Siloam Springs Holiday Classic. Siloam Springs had a 21-point lead on Greenwood only to watch the Bulldogs chip away and pull within four. The Panthers wound up winning that one 61-47.
On Friday, after Greenwood's Zane Harmon hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 41, the Panthers got the lead back for good when Greenwood's Jack Gaston was called for a technical foul and Harrison Kretzer split a pair of free throws at the line.
Noah Karp then converted a three-point play and Josh Hunt added a pair of free throws after being fouled on nearly the game possession to go up 47-41.
Leading 49-44 with 1:27 left, Hunt drove to the basket and scored to make it 51-44, and the Panthers combination of Karp, Josh Heinrichs, Hunt and Spencer Lashley combined to hit six of eight free throws to wrap up the win.
"I think we're just a really gutsy team," Karp said. "I know every single guy out there on the floor with me is going to play as hard as he can all the time. I never doubted that we would play to the end. We made a couple of plays there when it got tight, and it worked out."
Hunt and Lashley each scored 13 points to lead the Panthers, while Karp had 12, Heinrichs nine, Kretzer six, Murphy Perkins and Jacob Wakefield each with two. The Panthers were playing without guard Charlie Jones, who sat out the game with a concussion suffered Tuesday at Russellville.
Harmon scored all 18 of his points in the second half to lead Greenwood (3-16, 0-4), while Jordan Sheppard scored 15.
Greenwood coach Greg Nichols wasn't sure why it took the Bulldogs spotting the Panthers a big lead again to get back into the contest.
"I don't know why," he said. "I've got to figure that out."
Siloam Springs 57, Greenwood 48
Greenwood^2^15^15^16^--^48
Siloam Springs^13^14^10^19^--^57
Greenwood (3-16, 0-4): Harmon 18, Sheppard 15, Holt 4, Gaston 4, Stewart 3, Armstrong 2, Barrett 1, Gilbert 1.
Siloam Springs (7-13, 2-4): Hunt 13, Lashley 13, Karp 12, Heinrichs 9, Kretzer 6, Perkins 2, Wakefield 2.
Siloam Springs 57, Russellville 46
RUSSELLVILLE -- The Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory against the Cyclones on Tuesday at Cyclone Arena.
Siloam Springs scored the first seven points of the game, but Russellville came back to take a 12-9 lead after the first quarter.
The Panthers pulled ahead 18-15 at halftime after outscoring Russellville 9-3 in the second quarter. Siloam Springs extended that margin to 34-29 going into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers pulled ahead by double digits in the fourth quarter.
Harrison Kretzer led Siloam Springs with 18 points, while Noah Karp had 14 and Josh Hunt 10. Spencer Lashley added eight points, including a pair of second-half 3-pointers, and Josh Heinrichs scored three, and Charlie Jones and Murphy Perkins each with two.
Up next
The Panthers host Providence Academy at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a nonconference game at Panther Activity Center. The Panthers will then play first Friday at 6 p.m. in a homecoming game against Farmington.
Sports on 01/22/2017