The Greenwood boys’ basketball team entered Thursday’s game against South Warren needing a big effort to keep control of its postseason fate.

The Spartans got a win at Greenwood on Jan. 2 and had a chance to take the tiebreaker with a win Thursday, but the Gators had other plans – using a strong, balanced effort to whip past South Warren 75-55.

Greenwood (16-4 overall, 2-2 District 14) took a sizable lead into halftime and held back the Spartans in the second half to earn the split in the season series and keep alive any hopes for at least a share of the regular-season district crown.

“The win tonight put us in our own driver’s seat,” Greenwood coach Will McCoy said. “If we take care of business next week with Bowling Green, then we are in that 2-3 game. Everything else will have to play out how it plays out, but we took a step in the right direction tonight. The guys had a goal tonight. They came over here and you could really tell they were on a mission.”

South Warren (13-5, 2-2) won by 10 at Greenwood earlier in the month and the Spartans looked like it could more of the same Thursday, jumping out to an early 10-5 advantage.

Greenwood scored seven straight to take the lead and extended that margin to 17-13 by the end of the first quarter. That advantage continued to grow, with the Gators using a 9-2 spurt to make the score 31-17. The margin was 37-22 by halftime.

“The aggressiveness and the tempo of the game and the intensity, the 50-50 balls and all the things that we have been hit or miss with this year, they were on tonight,” McCoy said. “The offense has been good the last couple of weeks and they continue on with that. Add that other stuff that maybe doesn’t show up in the paper or on the stat sheet, that was huge tonight.”

South Warren tried to get back in the game early in the second half, pulling within 41-32 and having a chance to get closer but an empty possession and a three-point play by Martell Tuttle on the other end fueled a 15-5 run that gave the Gators a 19-point lead heading into the final period. The Spartans were unable to get closer than 17 the rest of the way.

“Greenwood played a really good game,” South Warren coach Carlos Quarles said. “They were on top of their game tonight. We had some defensive lapses that kind of contributed to it, but they took full advantage. Hats off to them.”

Tuttle led the way for Greenwood with 19 points. The Gators shot 52% from the field, including 10-for-23 from 3.

“This is big,” Tuttle said. “We came out here ready to go. One thing about this group is that we aren’t scared to play anybody. We are just ready.”

Isaiah Summers and Ethan York finished with 14 points each, with York adding 10 rebounds. Brayden Kennedy finished with 13 points, while Kash Sampson made it five Gators in double figures, scoring 10 points.

“That’s when we are at our best,” McCoy said. “You are tough to scout and you are tough to guard when you share it like that.”

Owen Shively finished with a game-high 22 points for South Warren, while Johan Pratt added 16 points. The Spartans were without Junior Perkins, who missed a second game with a concussion.

“We were a little short-handed, but that happens during the season,” Quarles said. “Other guys have got to step up. Unfortunately, we didn’t play well tonight. We are still in the running for the 2 or 3 seed. There is lot of season to play so we are going to take this, learn from it and get better.”

Both teams are scheduled to return to action at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, with South Warren hosting Logan County and Greenwood playing at Barren County.

GHS 17 20 19 19 – 75

SWHS 13 9 15 18 – 55

GHS – Tuttle 19, Summers 14, York 14, Kennedy 13, Sampson 10, Huff 3, Meador 2.

SW – Shively 22, Pratt 16, Willis 5, McIntyre 4, Bridges 3, Decker 3, Greene 2.

Girls

Greenwood 59, South Warren 48

The Lady Gators earned the season sweep over the Spartans, setting up a battle with Bowling Green for a share of the district lead next week.

“They came in and fought hard,” Greenwood coach Terrance Williams said. “South Warren is getting so much better with every game and it took our entire team to get this done today. We struggled in the last three minutes trying to end it, but we ended up on top and that’s where we want to be.”

South Warren (5-14 overall, 1-3 District 14) held a 26-21 advantage early in the second quarter when the Lady Gators stepped up the defensive pressure and soared in front. Greenwood (9-9, 3-1) used a 14-2 run to make the score 35-28 and held a 36-32 lead at the break.

The margin grew to 45-33 after a bucket in the paint from Ava Morrison midway through the third quarter. The Spartans got as close as nine in the fourth quarter, but were unable to get any closer.

“We felt like we gave up too many points early on, so I called a timeout to get on them about the changes they needed to make,” Williams said. “To give more effort defensively. We harped on it all week long and it showed.”

Four Lady Gators finished in double figures, led by 14 points – all in the first half – from Anzlee Hendrix. Morrison had 13 points and 11 rebounds, with Molly Spidel adding 13 points and Molly Tandy finishing with 11 points.

JaNya Anderson led South Warren with 12 points.

Both teams are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday. South Warren will host Logan County, while Greenwood travels to Barren County.

GHS 19 17 14 9 – 59

SWHS 19 13 9 7 – 48

GHS – Hendrix 14, Spidel 13, Morrison 13, Tandy 11, Clark 6, Buser 2.

SW – Anderson 12, Gatewood 8, Fugate 8, Kuzma 7, Osborne 6, Calvert 5, Flourney 2.