The National Park College Nighthawk basketball teams split the series with Arkansas
Baptist College Monday, with the Nighthawk women falling, 70-65, and the Nighthawk
men defeating the Buffaloes, 86-74.In the women’s game, National Park College (3-7) overcame an eight-point first-quarter
deficit to tie the game at nine at the end of the opening quarter. In the second quarter,
the Nighthawks exploded for 24 points, fueled by an eight-point effort from sophomore
Bailey Womack (Fountain Lake) to take a 33-24 lead into halftime.
In a tale of two halves, however, Arkansas Baptist College bounced back in the third
quarter, outscoring the Nighthawks, 25-8, to take a 49-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the final act, a late Nighthawk push from sophomore Kayla Sims (Fountain Lake)
and freshman Logan Keener (Lake Hamilton) wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.
Womack led the Nighthawks in scoring with 17 points, while Sims and Keener added 13
points apiece. Sophomores Faith Bratton (Jessieville) and Hailee Crosby (Mountain
Pine) added 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the loss.
The Nighthawk men (10-1) faced a defensive battle in the first half of their contest,
going toe-to-toe with the Buffaloes 
for most of the game’s first 20 minutes. Led by nine points from freshman Patrick
Greene (Little Rock Mills), the Nighthawks capitalized on rebounds and sharing the
ball, offensively, to take a 32-30 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Nighthawks shined from the charity stripe to outpace the Buffaloes—hitting
18 free throws and rallying behind a 16-point effort from Greene and 10-point halves
from freshman David Jagers (Mayflower) and sophomore Braylon Steen (Bryant).
Greene led the Nighthawks in scoring with 25 points. Steen and sophomore KJ Corder
(Hot Springs) added 17 and 14 points, respectively, while Jagers finished with 10
points in the win.
The Nighthawk men and women return to action Thursday, January 17 at “The Kettle”
at National Park College in Hot Springs. The Nighthawk women play host to SAU Tech
at 5 p.m. with the men tipping off at 7 p.m. against the Rockets. XZero Sports will
stream the games live at www.xzerosports.com.
For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit www.np.edu/basketball. Visit NJCAA Division II team stats for up-to-date NJCAA statistics on the Nighthawks. Fans can also follow
the Nighthawks all season on social media.
Facebook: Nighthawk Athletics
Twitter: @NPC_Nighthawks
Instagram: nighthawkathletics
Snapchat: npnighthawks
