Nighthawk men continue perfect start
National Park College’s men’s basketball team kept its undefeated season alive on Saturday by downing Rhodes College’s junior varsity team, 89-59, for the second time this season.
Leading scorer Patrick Greene, a freshman out of Wilbur D. Mills in Little Rock, led the charge with 17 points in the first half. He entered the game averaging a team-best 16.8 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting from the field, 48.5 percent shooting on 3-pointers and an 82.6 percent mark at the free throw line.
The Nighthawks (7-0) went toe-to-toe with the Lynx in a low-scoring defensive struggle through the game’s first 12 minutes before surging ahead with a 9-0 run. National Park College led, 42-27, at halftime.
The home team smothered the visitors in the second half. The Nighthawks allowed just two points in the paint, leaning heavily on its top-ranked rebounding margin for a second-consecutive 30-point victory.
Greene finished with 27 points, including five 3-pointers. Freshmen David Jagers, of Mayflower, and Jaren Richards, out of eStem, added 13 points and 11 points, respectively.
Last year’s leading scorer, Bryant sophomore Braylon Steen, added 10 rebounds and six points. Steen is averaging 9.8 points and 8.3 rebounds this season.
National Park College was on the road on Monday to face Cossatot Community College in De Queen. The Nighthawks coasted past the Colts, 126-61, in the season opener on Nov. 5 at The Kettle.
The Nighthawks competed in the gymnasium of the NPC Wellness Center. The college rebranded the venue as The Kettle prior to the season.
According to the school, a group of nighthawks is commonly referred to as a “kettle” and their movement can resemble the boiling motion of a cauldron when a group of birds rotate into a thermal updraft. The college renamed the gym to The Kettle because the players “gather to practice and compete against their opponents,” “begin their college journeys” and “strive to help one another become the best version of themselves.”