A big start and a big man were the difference for the Greenwood boys’ basketball team, which stayed alive in the race for the No. 3 seed in District 14 with a 69-60 win over South Warren on Friday at Greenwood High School.

Greenwood (12-12 overall, 2-5 District 14) blitzed the Spartans in the first 20 minutes and rode a huge night from 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Ben Carroll, who had 26 points and 11 rebounds, to avenge a loss to the Spartans on Dec. 15 and make it two straight district wins after an 0-5 start.

Both wins, against South Warren on Friday and Warren East on Jan. 26, came on the Gators’ home court – the site of this year’s district tournament.

Carroll said the last two wins have been a big boost for the Gators’ confidence as the postseason approaches.

“Just like the East game we had a lot of energy and everything,” Carroll said. “We just got out on top early and held the lead.”

Greenwood came out red hot, hitting seven of its first nine shots – all four from 3-point range – to build a mammoth 20-0 advantage.

While the players and fans celebrated the huge start, Greenwood coach Bob Pels said he knew the game wasn’t over yet.

“A big early lead is fool’s gold,” Pels said. “Once you do that, we start getting sloppy and start doing things we aren’t supposed to do. You knew they were going to make a run at us, but I am not sure I could convince the kids of that. They figure, ’20-0. We are going home.’ ”

Pels’ concerns proved to be correct as South Warren (12-12, 1-6) finally got on the board with two free throws from Tyler Martin with 3:14 left in the first period. The Spartans started to chip away from there, shaving the deficit to as low as seven before Greenwood pushed the lead back to 33-24 by halftime.

The Gators’ lead grew to 44-31 after a 3 from Carroll with 3:25 left in the third, but the Spartans weren’t ready to go away just yet. South Warren used a 10-3 spurt to pull within 47-41 early in the fourth period before Greenwood got back-to-back buckets to push the lead to 10. The Spartans were unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way.

“Hats off to them, they shot lights out,” South Warren coach Nelson Cundiff said. “I was really disappointed with the way we came out. We’ve got four seniors out there and I know it was a big game for them. I don’t know if they were too tight – I don’t know – but 20-0? I used three timeouts and I didn’t know what else to do.

“We started making substitutions and got back into the basketball game and every time we made a run we committed a foul or we turned it over. We couldn’t get into any rhythm tonight.”

Jack Roberts added 23 points for the Gators, while Gee Floyd finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. The Gators shot 50 percent from the field.

“We got some really nice games out of Jack and Ben,” Pels said. “Luke’s finger is hurt and he was really struggling tonight, but he was tough enough to play. That was the first start for Floyd and he gave us the extra rebounding we haven’t had very much of and Noah Stansbury did a really good job of controlling the ball at the end.

“I was really pleased. It’s actually better to have a game like that to have a game where you keep on getting kicked and have to battle back. Big routs are very useful, especially if you have to play someone again.”

Colin Moore led South Warren with 15 points. Martin added 11 and Carver finished with 10 for the Spartans, who shot 36.7 percent from the field.

Greenwood hosts Franklin-Simpson at 7:30 p.m. Friday. South Warren plays at Warren East at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Spartans must win to have any chance at the No. 3 seed. A loss Tuesday and South Warren will be in the opening-round game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

“We talked about the opportunity to win tonight and that we controlled our own destiny,” Cundiff said. “We have another game at East and (if we win) a three-way tie. East is going to be tough to beat at East. We really put ourselves behind the eight ball, but we will practice tomorrow, try to get better, and keep working.”

SWHS 7 17 14 22 – 60

GHS 20 13 14 22 – 69

SW – Moore 15, Martin 11, Carver 10, Howard 7, Spurrier 5, Jones 4, Bahic 4, Day 2, Tucker 2.

GHS – Carroll 26, Roberts 23, Floyd 8, Littrell 5, Stansbury 3, Wiliams 3, Nash 1.

Girls

South Warren 73, Greenwood 46

Three players finished in double figures as the Spartans remained unbeaten in District 14 play.

Greenwood (9-13 overall, 1-6 District 14) hung close for the first quarter and took an 18-16 lead on a layup by Jacqueline Jackson 44 seconds into the second period before South Warren (23-3, 7-0) took control.

Amaya Lasley’s 3 during a 10-0 spurt gave the Spartans the lead for good. South Warren continued to pull away, outscoring the Lady Gators 21-5 in the final seven minutes of the half to build a 33-20 advantage.

The lead continued to grow as South Warren opened the second half with an 11-0 run. The Spartans hit nine of the first 12 shots in the third period, leading by as much as 31 points in the second half.

Lasley paced the Spartans with 18 points while Jordan McDonald and Sarah Dennison added 14 points each.

“The seniors stepped up tonight,” South Warren coach Blane Embry said. “Natalie (Pierce) did a good job of getting it up the court. She did a nice job defensively against Jackson. Everybody contributed. I felt like our bench played a huge role, because we got in foul trouble. That is going to be our game. We are going to play 10 players. It’s nice to have a lot of numbers.”

Jackson led the Lady Gators with 11 points.

“They’ve got so many offensive weapons,” Greenwood coach Zach Simpson said. “You shut one down and another one steps up. I thought at the start of the game our game plan was great. They just have so many weapons that if one girl isn’t hitting another one stepped up. We learned some things tonight. That’s the biggest thing.”

Greenwood hosts Franklin-Simpson at 6 p.m. Saturday. South Warren plays at Warren East at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

SWHS 16 21 26 10 – 73

GHS 16 7 16 7 – 46

SW – Lasley 18, Dennison 14, McDonald 14, Pierce 7, Enlow 5, Stevenson 5, Button 5, Parrish 2, White 2, Bush 1.

GHS – Jackson 11, Miller 9, Hartis 9, Turley 6, Wheeler 4, Milam 4, Evans 2, Blewitt 1.