10 Jan 2024 Nighthawks soar in NJCAA opener

HOT SPRINGS — The third-ranked National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk men’s basketball team (14-0) opened NJCAA Region 2 play with a 111-86 win over South Arkansas College Monday in the Kettle.

From the opening tipoff, the Nighthawks took control of the game and never looked back. Led by hot starts from sophomore guards Nakavieon White (Odessa, Texas) and Patrick Punch (Houston, Texas), the Nighthawks built a 22-7 lead over the first six minutes. South Arkansas College answered with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to five points. However, the Stars could not complete the comeback. Behind 20 first-half points, White passed former Nighthawk Sayvon Traylor for third all-time in scoring as NPC took a 54-39 halftime advantage.   

With 24 second-half points, Punch dominated the scoring for the Nighthawks over the final period. Sophomore forward Anthony Swift (Las Vegas, Nevada) added 11 second-half points off the bench as NPC cruised to the lopsided victory to remain undefeated on the 2023-24 campaign.

Punch led the Nighthawks in scoring with 36 points and 10 rebounds on 14-16 shooting. White added 24 points, while sophomore guard Ja’Bryant Hill (Dallas, Texas) and Swift contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively. Sophomore center Taylor Harrell (Houston, Texas) finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds on 6-6 shooting in the win and currently leads the nation in field goal percentage at 75.8 percent.

The Nighthawks embark on a four-game road trip, beginning in West Memphis against University of Arkansas Mid-South at 7:30 p.m. tonight. NPC returns home against Shorter College Thursday Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m.