FRANKLIN – Greenwood junior guard Jack Roberts turned a night to forget into a reason to celebrate in Thursday’s 48-46 overtime win at Franklin-Simpson.

The Gators’ leading returning scorer was held without a point for the first three quarters, but scored nine points in the fourth period and extra session – including the game-winning shot with three seconds remaining – to help Greenwood (1-0) snap a four-game skid against the Wildcats.

“It was awesome,” Roberts said. “I went scoreless the first three quarters, but still I wanted the ball in my hands to take the last shot. It just meant that coach had the faith in me to let me take that shot.”

Roberts’ game-winner came after Greenwood had to rally late in regulation to force overtime.

The first three quarters were back and forth, with three ties and three lead changes and no lead larger than six points.

Franklin-Simpson (0-2) appeared to take control early in the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run that gave the Wildcats a 34-29 advantage.

Franklin’s lead was 39-34 after a layup by Dayveon Harris with 1:39 left in regulation when Greenwood began its comeback bid.

Ben Carroll’s putback trimmed the deficit to three and Roberts’ layup with 59 seconds remaining made the score 39-38. A turnover gave the ball back to Greenwood, which tied the score when Luke Littrell split a pair of free throws with 25.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Franklin-Simpson had a chance to win, but missed two shots in the paint in the final five seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime.

The Wildcats led early in the extra session before Greenwood surged ahead 44-43 on a Littrell 3 with 1:40 remaining. Kyler Pritchett split a pair of free throws and Alex Gilbert scored on a putback to help Franklin regain a 46-44 advantage with 1:10 remaining.

Greenwood had one rally left.

Noah Nash’s layup tied the score 19 seconds later and a turnover gave the Gators a shot to win with less than 30 seconds remaining. Roberts got the chance and made the most of it, driving on the right side of the lane and pulling up from 8 feet to drain the go-ahead basket.

Franklin had one last chance, but a 3 at the horn was long and the Gators held on for the victory.

“It was a terrific win for us,” Greenwood coach Bob Pels said. “That last couple of possessions we were really playing defense. I just love this team – how hard they work all the time. It’s like this in practice. We are not going to win them all because our size, but we are going to scrap and make people work for it every night.”

Littrell led the Gators with 17 points, while Carroll had eight points and six rebounds.

“This means a lot to come out and get a W about one of the best teams in the area,” Roberts said. “It gives us a lot of confidence.”

Dee Ragland led the Wildcats with 14 points. Harris had 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Gilbert finished with 12 points. Franklin-Simpson outrebounded Greenwood 37-33, with 18 offensive rebounds, but finished 8-for-18 from the free-throw line.

“That was tough,” Franklin coach Dee Spencer said. “We’ve got to do a better job of making free throws. We have to be better from the line. That was the difference in the game, in my opinion – we didn’t make free throws.”

Both teams return to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday with road tilts. Greenwood will play at Glasgow, while Franklin-Simpson travels to Clinton County.

GHS 9 13 7 10 9 – 48

FSHS 8 13 7 11 7 – 46

GHS – Littrell 17, Roberts 9, Carroll 8, Floyd 5, Williams 4, I. Stansbury 3, Nash 2.

FS – Ragland 14, Harris 12, Gilbert 12, Pritchett 3, Blackwell 2, Harris 2, Chatman 1.

Greenwood 48, Franklin-Simpson 18, girls

The Lady Gators used a stifling defense, holding Franklin-Simpson to one field goal over the first three quarters to take their season opener.

Riley Hartis led Greenwood (1-0) with 11 points, while Abbie Turley added 10 points.

Christina Carver led Franklin-Simpson (0-1) with six points. The Lady Cats shot 15.6 percent from the field, committing 25 turnovers.

“This is something we can build off of,” Greenwood coach Zach Simpson said. “We knew in practice all week what we had to do defensively to win the basketball game. I thought defensively for three and a half quarters we were right where we needed to be. To hold a team to 18 points is really good and we are proud of that.”

Greenwood plays at Glasgow at 6 p.m. Friday. Franklin-Simpson also returns to action at 6 p.m. Friday, playing at Clinton County.

GHS 15 20 8 5 – 48

FSHS 2 3 3 10 – 18

GHS – Hartis 11, Turley 10, Jackson 8, Miller 6, Riser 4, Une 2, Wheeler 2, Gordon 2, Flynt 2, Milam 1.

FS – Carver 6, Norwood 5, Barbee 3, McCutchen 2, Bunton 2.{&end}