The atmosphere was that of a district championship Friday night as the Greenwood Gators hosted the Bowling Green Purples in front of a packed house at Greenwood High.

There wasn't a seat open on the home side of the gym for this classic rivalry, and both student fan sections seemed to be competing to see who had more spirit as they both cheered for their school colors.

The first quarter was evenly matched and low scoring as both teams sized each other up, and at the end of the first quarter the score was tied 8-8. In the second quarter the Gators turned their game up a notch and outscored the Purples 19-4.

Greenwood guard Mark Lacy hit four free throws in a row after a shooting foul and a technical foul to put the Gators up by double digits carrying them into a 27-12 halftime advantage.

The third quarter was a similar story as the Gators continued to hit their shots and play relentless defense. Senior forward Chris Page ended the third quarter hitting two free throws putting the Gators up by a comfortable lead at 43-21.

The Gators didn't let up in the fourth quarter as Lacy scored two more of his team high 12 points on a layup with three minutes remaining. Freshman guard Daniel Turner contributed two free throws of his own to give Greenwood their biggest lead of the game at 26 points.

The Gators claimed their second win of the season against Bowling Green and their second district win of the year improving to 10-7 overall. The Purples were led in scoring by Jared Nixon with 13 points and Dee Anderson added 7 rebounds as they fell to 11-5 overall and 1-2 in the district.

Greenwood head coach Blane Embry said "It felt good to get a win on our home court and to get a district win. I thought our guys did a nice job of adjusting after the first quarter." The two teams meet again next week on January 18th as Greenwood will try to complete a regular season sweep of the Purples.