Siloam Springs struggled to get any consistency on offense Tuesday night, but there was nothing wrong with the Panthers' defense.
Siloam Springs held Greenwood to just two points in the first quarter and grabbed an early advantage on its way to a 52-34 win over the Bulldogs in 5A-West Conference action at Panther Activity Center.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Panthers.
Siloam Springs boys basketball coach Tim Stewart lamented the Panthers' struggles on offense, which included turnovers, missed opportunities and free throws, but he had nothing but praise for his defense.
"Fortunately our defense was good enough where (Greenwood) really struggled to score so we always had a comfortable lead," Stewart said. "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."
After Murphy Perkins and Greenwood's Jayce Garnes scored early in the first quarter, the Panthers would hold Greenwood scoreless the rest of the period and lead 9-2.
The Panthers pulled ahead 21-12 at halftime and used a 9-4 surge to open the third quarter to take a 14-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.
Jordan Stewart had a basket in that stretch and Perkins also had a three-point play.
Greenwood answered, cutting Siloam Springs' lead to seven on a pair of occasions, but the Panthers had a response in the fourth quarter.
Buckets from Stewart, Landon Ward and Evan Sauer got the Panthers' lead back up to double digits, 40-28, and Karson Clement buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:17 remaining for a 43-28 lead.
Siloam Springs would end up leading by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter.
"Greenwood is really tough and scrappy," Tim Stewart said. "You know they have trouble scoring, but they fly around and play physical and play with great energy. Give them credit. We struggled on offense and couldn't get into a rhythm. Fortunately our defense was good enough tonight to give us an 18-point win."
Garnes wound up leading Greenwood with eight points, as the Bulldogs struggled all over the court offensively.
"We didn't give ourselves a chance in the first half," said Greenwood head coach Donnie Husband. "With 17 turnovers at halftime, missed free throws, missed layups -- we don't have enough offensive firepower to miss layups and miss free throws and have a chance to compete. We were lucky we were only down nine at half because Siloam Springs missed some shots that they normally hit.
"It's kind of been the story of our season. We'll hang around a little bit and we fight hard, but in the end we just don't have enough firepower. We can't get the same guys all playing good on the same night."
Ward led Siloam Springs with 15 points, eight of which came from the free-throw line. Perkins added 10 for the Panthers while Clement had seven. Drew Vachon scored all six of his points to close the first half, while Sauer and Jordan Stewart each had six points and Jacob Wakefield chipped in two points.
"We're still on that climb to be the best we can be through the last half of the season here," Tim Stewart said. "The kids are working hard and we're getting better every day."
Siloam Springs 52, Greenwood 34
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.
Up next
The Panthers return to action Tuesday at Russellville before hosting Vilonia on Friday.
Sports on 01/20/2019