The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men’s and women’s basketball teams picked up NJCAA Region II Division II conference wins Thursday, with the Nighthawk women winning, 78-61, and the Nighthawk men defeating the Stars, 93-83.
In women’s action, the Nighthawks (3-7) took advantage of cold free throw shooting from South Arkansas to build an early lead. Led by physical defense and big three pointers from freshman India Atkins (Bryant) and sophomore Jaide Vavra (Centerpoint), the Nighthawks emerged with a 21-15 lead over the first 10 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Lady Stars battled back into convention, outscoring NPC, 18-14, to erase a 17-point deficit. Vavra added two treys within the quarter to help the Nighthawks cling to a 35-33 halftime lead.
After the Stars tied the game on the first bucket of the third quarter, the Nighthawks erupted on a 14-3 run, regaining the lead for good. Paced by nine third-quarter points from sophomore Imani Honey (Hot Springs), NPC built a 57-46 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. In the fourth quarter, Atkins and Honey flourished with seven and five points, respectively, guiding the Nighthawks to their first conference win of the season.
Atkins and Honey led the Nighthawks in scoring with 20 points apiece, while Vavra added 16 points in the win.
In the nightcap, the Nighthawk men (8-4) found themselves in a back-and-forth battle with the Stars early. Led by 12 first-half points from sophomore Sayvon Traylor (Conyers, GA), the Nighthawks flirted with multiple eight-point leads throughout the first 20 minutes, but clutch three-point shooting from South Arkansas kept NPC from pulling away.
Leading, 44-36, at halftime, NPC kept its foot on the gas in the second half. Behind 12 second-half points from Traylor and an explosive 15-point second-half performance from sophomore Joe Ramey (El Dorado), the Nighthawks controlled the paint and forced fouls—going 9-13 from the free throw line in the second half—en route to the team’s second conference victory of the year.
Traylor led the Nighthawks in scoring with 24 points, Ramey added 15 points, while sophomore JoQuarius Valrie (Houston, TX) and freshman Kylil Anderson (Fort Worth, TX) finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Sophomore Kam Vick (Little Rock) scored 10 points in the win.
The Nighthawk men and women play host to Arkansas State University Mid-South on Saturday, Mar. 13 with the women tipping off at 2 p.m. and the men following at 4 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.
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