The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men’s and women’s basketball teams took
down Arkansas Baptist College in “The Kettle” Tuesday, with the Nighthawk women defeating
the Lady Buffaloes, 83-63, and the Nighthawk men winning, 78-67.
The Nighthawk women (7-5) stormed out of the starting gate, knocking down six treys
to gain an 18-7 advantage early. In her second-consecutive hot start, freshman Nya
Moody (Lake Hamilton) shined with 14 first-quarter points, while eight-point efforts
from freshman Imani Honey (Hot Springs) and sophomore Grace Crawford (South Side Bee
Branch) paced NPC to a 32-15 lead in the first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, Honey took charge of the offensive with eight points while
the Nighthawks flourished defensively, utilizing multiple blocks and steals to pad
the lead to 20 points with six minutes remaining in the first half.
Leading, 50-29, at the half, NPC dominated the paint in the third quarter, disallowing
all Arkansas Baptist field goal attempts from within the arc. In the fourth quarter,
the Nighthawks kept their pace, spreading the ball between five scorers en route to
the team’s second-consecutive win.
Moody led the Nighthawks in scoring with 25 points. Honey added 24 points while Crawford
amassed 19 points in the win.
In men’s action, after Arkansas Baptist tied the game at seven with 16:06 to play
in the first half, NPC (10-7) erupted on a 14-2 run over the next seven minutes, led
by sophomore Reyhan Cobb (Decatur, Ga.). Late in the first half, the Nighthawks continued
to flex their defensive muscle, taking advantage of cold shooting and turnovers to
build a lopsided lead and hold their opponent to just 19 first-half points—the fewest
allowed by NPC in the first half this season.
Leading, 40-19, at halftime, NPC’s offense cooled in the second half, allowing the
Buffaloes to shrink the lead to nine
points with 7:45 remaining. Despite being outscored by Arkansas Baptist, the Nighthawks
regained ground from the free throw line, sinking 14 of 19 attempts and relying on
nine-point efforts from Cobb and freshman Kamryn Vick (Little Rock) to push the Nighthawks
across the finish line.
Cobb led the Nighthawks in scoring with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Vick added 15
points, while freshmen Tyler Tolliver (Mayflower), Joe Ramey (El Dorado) and Terry
Clardy Jr. (Conway) added 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the win.
“I was really proud of the way our young men came out and played defense in the first
half,” head coach Jason Hudnell said. “We held them to four second-chance points in
the first half. That’s one thing I’ve been stressing lately where I think we have
been deficient. I felt like the second half is where we allowed them to creep back
into it. They started getting second-chance points and clawing back into it. We have
to do a better job of keeping the same defensive intensity that we had in the first
half.”
The Nighthawk women return to action Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. against Crowder College
in Neosho, Missouri. After a week off, the Nighthawk men will travel to UA Cossatot
Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. to take on the Colts.
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
