The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk basketball teams split their series with
crosstown rival Champion Christian College on Saturday, with the Nighthawk women falling,
89-66, and the Nighthawk men winning, 71-62. In a back-and-forth first quarter, the Nighthawk women (1-3) stayed within two scores
for the majority of the first act, led by a five-point effort from sophomore Imani
Honey (Hot Springs). In the second quarter, the NCCAA No. 2-ranked Lady Tigers took
advantage of missed opportunities at the free throw line to build a 40-29 halftime
lead.
Champion Christian College opened the second half with a hot start, bruising the Nighthawk
defense for a 10-2 run to start the third quarter. NPC continued to struggle from
the free throw line, allowing the Lady Tigers to boost their lead to 20 points and
cruise to their eighth win of the season.
Honey led the Nighthawks in scoring with 16 points in the loss.
After opening with a 7-2 run to start the game, the Nighthawk men found themselves
in a close battle with the Tigers
throughout the majority of the first half. Leading, 18-15, midway through the half,
the Nighthawks embarked on an 8-0 run, paced by sophomore Terry Clardy Jr. (Conway),
but Champion Christian College quickly chipped away at the deficit, with the Nighthawks
settling for a 33-28 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Nighthawks flourished behind big scoring efforts from sophomores
Sayvon Traylor (Conyers, GA) and Kam Vick (Hot Springs) to build a double-digit lead.
With less than six minutes remaining in the contest, the Tigers attempted a late comeback,
capitalizing on turnovers and free throws to pull within seven points, but ran out
of time to overturn the scoreboard.
Traylor led the Nighthawks in scoring with 18 points, while Vick and Clardy Jr. added
16 and 12 points, respectively, in the win.
The Nighthawk men and women play host to East Texas Baptist University’s junior varsity
teams today. The women tip off at 5 p.m. with the men following at 7 p.m. General
admission tickets to NPC home games can be purchased at https://np.edu/tickets. Tickets
for faculty and staff can be obtained at https://np.edu/np-tickets. The games will be live streamed 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 on social media.
Facebook: Nighthawk Athletics
Twitter: @NPC_Nighthawks
Instagram: nighthawkathletics
Snapchat: npnighthawks
