YAZOO CITY - Greenwood had heavily favored Provine on the ropes but couldn't deliver the knockout blow.
The Rams, ranked No. 9 in the state and No. 2 in Class 4A, outhustled the Bulldogs in the fourth period to pick up a 66-55 win here Thursday in the first round of the Division 3-4A Tournament. By avoiding the huge upset, second-seeded Provine advances to today's 5:30 p.m. semifinal game against No. 3 seed Indianola Gentry.
The Bulldogs finish the season at 12-17.
After beating GHS by 21 and 42 in two regular-season meeting, the Rams must have thought this was going to be a cake walk. The seventh-seeded Bulldogs, however, had other ideas.
Greenwood led by as many as five points midway through the third period after a one-handed power slam by sophomore center Lavoris Weathers. It was his second dunk in a two-minute stretch.
But moments later, Weathers picked up his third foul and left the game with 3:22 left in the quarter.
The Rams quickly took advantage of the big man's absence, outscoring the Dogs 11-2 to the end of the period.
The Bulldogs took one last swing at the Rams early in the fourth, when Douglas Brown hit back-to-back driving layups to pull his team within three, 51-48. But it was all
Provine after that, as the Rams crashed the offensive boards to score three straight second-chance baskets.
"They outrebounded us down the stretch, because we didn't box out," GHS coach Rodney Major said. "Late in the game, they got too many second- and third-chance points. We preached about boxing out all week in practice and during this game. We lost this game mentally."
Guard Michael Higgins paced the Bulldogs with 17 points, and Weathers added 14.
Jarvis Williams pumped in a game-high 25 for the Rams, followed by Earnesto Green's 17.
Greenwood got off to a great start, jumping to a 9-2 lead on two baskets by Weathers, one by Falando Jones and a 3-pointer by Higgins.
GHS led 17-13 at the of the first period, thanks to a jump shot from Demetrius Daye.
Provine quickly tied the game at 17 in the first minute of the second period and took its first lead a minute later on a free throw by Williams, who scored eight points from the line in the second period.
After that, there were six lead changes before halftime and two ties, including a 31-31 score at the break.
