The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men’s and women’s basketball teams picked up a couple of road wins at UA Cossatot Tuesday, with the women winning, 77-62, and the men defeating the Colts, 85-78.
After falling behind early, 14-3, the Nighthawk women were forced to play from behind for the majority of the first quarter. Early foul trouble from UA Cossatot took hot shooters off the floor, allowing NPC to establish its defense and mount a comeback, cutting the deficit to 17-15 by the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Nighthawks caught fire, offensively, fueled by an 11-point explosion from freshman Imani Honey (Hot Springs). Behind strong defense and big three pointers from freshmen Nya Moody (Lake Hamilton) and Jaide Vavra (Centerpoint), NPC allowed just three Lady Colts field goals, amid a 25-7 run to take a 40-24 lead at the half.
In the second half, NPC and UA Cossatot continued to trade blows, with Vavra leading the Nighthawks offense with 10 second-half points, including three treys. Leading, 57-44, entering the fourth quarter, NPC spread the scoring between seven Nighthawks to close out the 15-point victory.
Honey led the Nighthawks in scoring with 21 points. Moody and Vavra added 15 points apiece in the win.
In men’s action, NPC led with a balanced offensive attack, behind five point-efforts from freshmen Terry Clardy Jr. (Conway) and Kamryn Vick (Little Rock) and four-point efforts from sophomore Reyhan Cobb (Decatur, Ga.) and freshman Joe Ramey (El Dorado) to double up the Colts, 18-9, with 11:58 to play in the first half.
Over the next five minutes, however, the Colts’ offense would awaken, outscoring NPC, 15-5, to storm back and take the lead, 24-23, with 6:41 remaining in the first half. For the remainder of the first half, UA Cossatot would continue to manage points from the paint while NPC kept pace from the free throw line to knot the game at 38 at halftime.
In the second half, the stalemate continued, with the Colts and Nighthawks battling neck-and-neck to a 51-50 NPC lead with 12:50 remaining in regulation. NPC would finally create distance from the Colts, embarking on an 8-0 run fueled by Vick, Ramey and freshman Tyler Tolliver (Mayflower) to build a lead that would not be broken.
With 1:17 remaining in the game, the Colts managed to cut the deficit to four points, 80-76, from the free throw line, but NPC iced the game with key free throws to send the Nighthawks to their second-consecutive victory.
Vick led the Nighthawks in scoring with 20 points. Ramey and Cobb added 18 and 13 points, respectively, while Clardy Jr. added 12 points with 10 rebounds and Tolliver added 11 points in the win.
“I didn’t like some of the energy that we came out with,” head men’s basketball coach Jason Hudnell said. “I have to do a better job of having our young men ready to come out and execute and be sharp from the beginning. We had one stretch in the second half with our second group to give us good minutes. They rebounded well and we pushed the lead out. [UA Cossatot] hit some shots and made it interesting there at the end, but I’m really proud of the guys who stepped up to hit free throws at the end to seal the deal.”
Nighthawks basketball returns to action Saturday, Feb. 8 at ASU Mid-South in West Memphis with the women playing at 2 p.m. and the men tipping off at 4 p.m. 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 Nighthawk Men stats and Nighthawk Women stats for up-to-date NJCAA statistics on the Nighthawks this season. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.
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