By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
By the time the final buzzer sounded, it was hard to believe the Greenwood and Lighthouse boys basketball teams had been tied in the third quarter.
But with the score knotted up at 36, Greenwood responded with a 15-2 run to break the game open and then went on to win by 26 with a 74-48 victory in the championship game of the 42nd Annual Warrior Classic at McAuley.
“We started doing things a little better defensively than we did in the first half,” said Greenwood coach Darren Taylor. “We held (Judah) Louderback who had 15 or something in the first half, he didn’t score in the second half and that was probably the difference. We started getting to the basket a lot more in the second half. Tyler (Harrell) had some really nice plays in the fourth quarter. Logan (Sanders) got to the basket. Getting three kids that high in double figures, that’s going to be helpful.”
Greenwood, 18-3, trailed 22-19 after a quarter, thanks in large part to Louderback’s 10 early points. Bluejays senior Collin Clark––later named the tournament MVP––was even better, pouring in 15 of his game-high 26 points in the first eight minutes. Still, Lighthouse led 27-26 midway through the second before Greenwood’s Harrell and Sanders made back-to-back 3-pointers, and the Bluejays led 36-34 at the break.
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Then, Lighthouse opened up the third with a game-tying basket by Orin Stinson with 7:28 on the clock. The Chargers wouldn’t score again until the final second of the quarter. In between those scores, Greenwood got points from five different players and Sanders nailed consecutive 3’s as the lead grew. It was 53-40 before Lighthouse’s Stinson scored on a reverse layup just before the buzzer.
“They missed some shots they weren’t missing in the first half,” Taylor said. “We were able to convert those into points.”
Elijah Rahn made two free throws for the Chargers to open the fourth, but then Greenwood clamped down again and didn’t allow a score for six minutes. Harrell, meanwhile, poured in 11 points in the final eight minutes, and Sanders and Caden Frederick each added 4.
“They have a really good team,” Taylor said. “We’ve played a pretty good schedule and we knew they were good. Responding the way we did in the second half will give us some confidence.”
The Bluejays won their 10th game in a row and haven’t lost yet in 2025.
“Knock on wood,” Taylor said.
“We’ve played well at times,” he said. “I’ve been proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish.”
Greenwood was led by Clark’s 26. Sanders added 17 and Harrell 16. Caden Frederick added 7, Kalen Hetzler added 6 and Cooper Morgan scored 2.
For Lighthouse, Louderback scored 15, Elijah Rahn scored 13, Logan Nigh scored 8, Lee Stinson had 6, Jojo Rahn scored 4 and Orin Stinson scored 2.
All-Tournament Team
Jamison Menadue (Golden City)
Spencer Parrill (Golden City)
Judah Lauderback (Lighthouse Christian)
Elijah Rhan (Lighthouse Christian)
Logan Sanders (Greenwood)
Michael Parrigon (McAuley Catholic)
Jack Twiss (Thomas Jefferson)
Kohl Thurman (Thomas Jefferson)
Adam Stanton (New Heights Christian)
Logan Decker (New Heights Christian)
