The Greenwood boys’ basketball team made the most of its postseason dress rehearsal, cruising to an 83-59 win at Warren East in the regular-season finale on Thursday.

Greenwood (23-7) seized control early and built a big enough cushion to give the starters plenty of rest in the second half, making it six out of seven wins heading into Tuesday’s opening round of the District 14 tournament.

“That was the goal,” Greenwood coach Will McCoy said. “We wanted to work on some things early that we plan to do on Tuesday and we were able to do that. Second quarter we kind of tried to shift to do what we thought would bother them and get that cushion we would need to get those key guys out in the second half. All of that kind of came together. There was a lot of good.”

The Gators never trailed, scoring the first nine points and pushing the advantage to 21-9 late in the first. Warren East (1-25) got the deficit down to 24-17 early in the second quarter, but Greenwood used a 15-0 run to bust the game open.

The lead was 46-20 at halftime, growing to as many as 29 points in the second half – allowing McCoy to rest his starters the entire fourth quarter.

Greenwood used a balanced attack, with five players finishing in double figures. Ethan York led the way with 14 points, while Martell Tuttle added 13 points. Landon Meador finished with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Kash Sampson also scored 12 points, with Isaiah Summers finishing with 10 points.

“That’s when we are at our best,” McCoy said. “Kash and Brayden (Kennedy) average a little over seven. Martell and Landon average around 10. Ethan averages about 12 and Isaiah about 15. That’s who we are. It’s so special to have that, and then guys we bring off the bench as well are capable of doing some things. It was kind of the totality of our roster tonight. That’s what it is going to take Tuesday and if we are fortunate to win that game beyond Tuesday. It’s going to take a full group effort to accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves.”

Luke Barron finished with a game-high 28 points to lead Warren East. Cooper Doyle added 16 points.

Warren East will face Glasgow in the District 15 tournament at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Glasgow High School.

Greenwood faces South Warren in the District 14 tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Warren Central High School. The Gators and Spartans split the season, with each winning on the other team’s home floor.

“It’s the perfect 2-3 game,” McCoy said. “Both teams can beat the other team. We both respect each other, coaches and players. We both proved it with a series split. They’ve never been and we haven’t been in a long, long time. It will come down to who executes, who makes the most shots. Who is the most eager to win and (see) who handles that big moment.”

GHS 21 25 24 13 – 83

WEHS 13 7 21 18 – 59

GHS – York 14, Tuttle 13, Sampson 12, Meador 12, Summers 10, Oliver 6, Willett 4, Kennedy 3, Stinson 3, Anderson 3, Pillow 3.

WE – Barron 28, Doyle 16, Reynolds 6, Lightfoot 3, Austin 3, Atkins 3.

Girls

Greenwood 68, Warren East 47

The Lady Gators surged in front in the second quarter and held back a second-half charge from Warren East to earn the win in the regular-season finale for both teams.

“The girls played a really good team game tonight,” Greenwood coach Terrance Williams said. “It’s something we needed to get our momentum back. They were locked in and focused. We got some stops defensively and I thought we rebounded the ball well. As we move towards Monday, we’ve got some momentum.”

Warren East (11-15) got off to a hot start, scoring the first seven points, but the Lady Gators chipped away to pull even 12-all on a jumper by Abby Buser at the buzzer to end the first quarter.

That was the start of a 16-0 run for Greenwood (14-15) that allowed the Lady Gators to build a 26-12 cushion midway through the second. The Lady Raiders got the deficit down to eight, but Anzlee Hendrix scored in the final seconds to make the score 32-22 at halftime.

Greenwood scored eight straight to open the second half and Warren East was unable to get closer than 12 the rest of the way.

“That’s one of the best starts we’ve had all year,” Warren East coach Jenny Neville said. “I was proud of the first quarter and how we performed out of the gate. Second quarter they found a way to get inside and get some shots off against the defense that we were running and we fell behind. Third quarter, we took some good shots. Our shots weren’t falling tonight and it put us in a pretty good deficit.”

Molly Spidel led Greenwood with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

“It’s all about my teammates,” Spidel said. “They are the ones who help. I’ve got to get them the ball. They’ve got to get me the ball. We’ve got to work together and we worked really well tonight.”

Hendrix finished with 16 points, Molly Tandy 10 points and Ava Morrison just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Brelynn Wardlow led Warren East with 13 points, while Tristen Lindsey added 10 points.

The Lady Raiders will face Allen County-Scottsville in the District 15 tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at Glasgow High School.

Greenwood faces South Warren at 7:30 p.m. on Monday in the District 14 tournament at Warren Central High School.

“We will practice really hard and do what we can to make sure we are ready to go,” Williams said.

GHS 12 20 18 18 – 68

WEHS 12 10 12 13 – 47

GHS – Spidel 20, Hendrix 16, Tandy 10, Morrison 9, Sejmenovic 6, Clark 4, Buser 2, Wilcutt 1.

WE – Wardlow 13, Lindsey 10, A. Brooks 7, Neville 5, Jones 5, J. Brooks 3, Hendrick 3, Hart 1.