The Siloam Springs boys basketball team is headed back to the state tournament for the first time since 2016.
The Panthers punched their ticket Monday night with a dominant 61-40 win over Greenwood in the 5A-West Conference Tournament semifinals inside Panther Activity Center.
Siloam Springs took Greenwood out of the game early, hitting six 3-pointers in the first quarter and building a double-digit lead, which it held the rest of the way.
Siloam Springs led by as many as 16 points in the first half before Greenwood cut it to 11 at halftime. But the Panthers started the second half with a 13-0 run to blow the game open.
“That was a good way to start,” said Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart. “This time of year, being in that rhythm and getting early shots and feeling that energy is such a big boost. Give Greenwood credit. They go into halftime with all the momentum. All of our coaches, we talked in there and that’s the one thing, there needed to be a response in the third quarter and man was there a response. It was good.”
It was the third meeting between the two schools. Greenwood won at Siloam Springs 53-50 on Jan. 19 and Siloam Springs topped the Bulldogs 54-44 at Greenwood last week.
The first meeting between the two teams was junior Josh Stewart’s first game back from covid-19 protocols and he struggled to find form as Greenwood got the road win at Panther Activity Center.
But the last two times out have been a different story. Josh Stewart scored 16 points in last week’s win at Greenwood and he had a game-high 20 Monday night, including three of the Panthers’ six 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Josh Stewart hit a 3-pointer on the wing for a 13-9 lead and Nate Vachon hit one at the top of the key. Josh Stewart then hit back to back treys as the Panthers went up 22-11.
“(Josh Stewart) shot the eyes out of it tonight,” said Greenwood coach Donnie Husband. “They shot the ball really well tonight. That had a big effect on the game. They had a lot of confidence in the first quarter. They came out and hit six threes, so they came out and shot the ball well. I just thought we were tentatitve and didn’t get up into them and guard and just let them have too much freedom. Of course they’re really good. They’re playing really well and you can just tell. They’ve got good chemistry and have a lot of things going their way right now.”
Siloam Springs led 34-23 at halftime but opened the second half on a big run to put the game away.
Dalton Newman started it with a jumper and Josh Stewart hit another 3-pointer.
Jackson Ford added a bucket inside before Josh Stewart hit two free throws for a 43-23 lead with 4:31 left.
Vachon had a steal and score and Newman added another bucket for a 47-23 lead, the biggest of the night for the Panthers.
Three Greenwood players — Sam Forbus, Aiden Kennon and Braden Stein — each had seven points to lead the Bulldogs.
Newman added 10 points for Siloam Springs, while Carter Winesburg had nine, Ford eight, Vachon five, Trey Whorton four, Nick Gray and Will Gryder each with two and Jedi Hunter one.
Siloam Springs, the fourth seed, was scheduled to play at No. 1 seed Russellville on Tuesday in the tournament semifinals. Results were not available at presstime. The Panthers will play again on Thursday.
The results of the conference tournament will determine the seeding for the Class 5A state tournament, which begins Monday at Hot Springs High School.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Tim Stewart said. “They deserve it. They’ve been through a lot this year, just like every team has.”
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Siloam Springs 61, Greenwood 40
Greenwood^13^10^5^12^—^40
Siloam Springs^24^10^16^11^—^61
Greenwood (10-14): Forbus 7, Kennon 7, Stein 7, Wright 5, Houston 5, Bartlett 5, Marek 3, Ligon 1.
Siloam Springs (12-12): Stewart 20, Newman 10, Winesburg 9, Ford 8, Vachon 5, Whorton 4, Gray 2, Gryder 2, Hunter 1.