The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men’s and women’s basketball teams took
down East Texas Baptist University’s junior varsity teams Tuesday, with the Nighthawk
women winning, 79-59, and the men defeating the Tigers, 96-78.
In women’s action, NPC traded blows with the Lady Tigers early, led by four quick
points from sophomore Grace Crawford (South Side Bee Branch). Tied, 9-9, with 5:35
remaining in the quarter, the Lady Tigers hit their stride, amassing a 7-1 run to
take a 16-10 lead. With three minutes remaining, however, the Nighthawks answered
back with a 7-0 run of their own, led by key three-pointers from freshman Jaide Vavra
(Centerpoint) to lead, 17-10, at the end of the quarter.
NPC received a boost in the second quarter, fueled by a nine-point effort from freshman
Imani Honey (Hot Springs) and six points from freshman Nya Moody (Lake Hamilton).
Outscoring the Lady Tigers, 17-6, NPC cruised to a 36-22 lead at halftime.
Each team’s highest-scoring efforts came in the third quarter, where the Lady Tigers
edged NPC, 25-24. Behind nine points from Honey and seven points from Crawford, NPC
managed to take a 60-47 lead into the fourth quarter, where NPC closed the door on
the win behind timely shooting in the paint and seven-of-eight shooting from the free
throw line.
Honey led the Nighthawks in scoring with 22 points, while Vavra added 14 points.
Moody and Crawford scored 13 points apiece in the win.
In men’s action, NPC went to work early, taking a 7-2 lead in the game’s first minute
and utilizing strong offensive efforts from freshmen Joe Ramey (El Dorado), 
Kamryn Vick (Little Rock) and Terry Clardy Jr. (Conway) to pace the Nighthawk lead
to double digits, 19-9, with 13:53 remaining in the first half. With 3:04 remaining
in the first half, the Nighthawks pushed the lead to 21 points, en route to a 52-33
halftime lead.
In the second half, NPC spread its wealth, offensively. Led by sophomores Jeremiah
Brantley (Belton, MO) and KaJuan Christon (Hot Springs), NPC attacked the paint early
and often, taking advantage of Tiger foul trouble and turnovers to boost the Nighthawks
across the finish line for their second-consecutive win.
Ramey led the Nighthawks in scoring with 20 points, while Brantley added 16 points.
Vick and Clardy Jr. finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Christon amassed
11 points in the win.
“We’re dealing with several injuries right now,” head coach Jason Hudnell said. “This
was a game with a short bench, but we did what we needed to do to get another home
win. We were able to give some quality minutes to guys who haven’t gotten much throughout
the season. We’re looking forward to the next few games and we feel like we have a
chance to get hot and make a run in the upcoming NJCAA tournament.”
The Nighthawk men returns to action Thursday, Feb. 20 at South Arkansas Community
College in El Dorado with a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Nighthawk women celebrate sophomore
night on Saturday, Feb. 22 against SAU Tech in Hot Springs.
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.
Facebook: Nighthawk Athletics
Twitter: @NPC_Nighthawks
Instagram: nighthawkathletics
Snapchat: npnighthawks
