The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men’s basketball team picked up a win Wednesday
night, defeating Rhema Bible College, 110-105 at “The Kettle” at National Park College
in Hot Springs.
In a back-and-forth battle that featured multiple lead changes, the Nighthawks and
Eagles traded blows early and often in the first half, with Rhema Bible College thriving
from beyond the arc and the Nighthawks aggressively scoring from in the paint.
With 7:17 remaining in the first half, the Eagles went on a run, building its largest
lead of the night, 36-29. However, NPC would shrink the deficit to one point, 47-46,
heading into halftime, behind 14 first-half points from freshman Joe Ramey (El Dorado).
In the second half, the Nighthawks caught fire early, led by 20 points from Ramey
and 16 points from sophomore Reyhan Cobb (Decatur, Ga.), who had been held scoreless
in the first half. With 13 minutes remaining, NPC built a lead of 13 points, 71-58,
and appeared to be cruising toward victory.
In the game’s final two minutes, however, Rhema staged a comeback, shrinking a 10-point
NPC lead to just three points in the game’s final 27 seconds. Cobb and freshman Terry
Clardy Jr. (Conway) would seal the win for NPC from the free throw line, completing
the regular-season sweep of the Eagles.
Ramey led the Nighthawks in scoring with 34 points, while sophomore KaJuan Christon
(Hot Springs) and Cobb added 18 and 16 points, respectively. Clardy Jr. scored 13
points with 10 rebounds in the win.
“I felt like there were times that we got up double digits and were in pretty good
shape, but couldn’t get that killshot,” Nighthawks head coach Jason Hudnell said.
“Hats off to Rhema, they really came out and played hard until the end and gave us
all we wanted.”
The Nighthawk men and women travel to North Arkansas College Saturday, Jan. 18 to
take on the Pioneers. XZero Sports will stream the games live at www.xzerosports.com beginning with the women’s game at 2 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 4 p.m.
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
