Greyhounds Defeat Defending National Champs In Overtime

Every time National Park and ASU Mid-South meet on the hardwood there is always just a little bit more at stake. Both teams have been at the top of the region for the last couple years, and these teams put on a show. It was no different tonight as the Greyhounds would eventually walk out of the Kettle with a win.

"These are the types of games that you enjoy being a part of. Both teams taking turns giving their best shot and the other team responding right back. This group just continues to impress me with how good we can be. We just have to focus on making it a habit and staying consistent. Once we do that, I believe we can finish this season out pretty strong. I was very excited to see Taylor come in and do what he did in that first half. He really set the tone for us and was a big reason we were able to lead at the half. Jaxson and Jermaine are doing what I thought they could, and putting us in the best situations. CJ had a monster game although it wasn't scoring, he did everything else. 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocks is an absolute crazy stat line. These guys bailed me out of a couple awful decisions, so I thank them. We need to finish this first half of region play strong, and put ourselves in a great position moving forward. With that, we'll breakdown the film tomorrow and get ready for Shorter on Saturday back at home." head coach Cody Hastings had to say after the game.

Both teams started out trading baskets, but it was the Nighthawks who used their defense to turn the Greyhounds over and jumped out to a 10 point lead early in the 2nd half scoring 17 points within the first 4 minutes of the game. From then on both teams stayed going at each other with everything they have, but it was the defense by the Greyhounds that allowed them to work their way back into the game getting layups and taking advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line. ASU Mid-South would battle all the way back and would take a slim 44-42 lead going into the half.

The Greyhounds picked up right where they left off with their defense leading the charge jumping out to a 7 point lead of their own by turning turnovers into points. But, as any good team does the Nighthawks responded with their own run and eventually regained the lead. It was the Nighthawks who had a couple chances at the rim at the end of regulation, but the Greyhounds were able to get a stop and after 2 timeouts were able to draw up a final play with just 1 second left. Davonta Tucker caught the inbound and tried to get the shot off but was blocked by Mondo Watkins to force the game into overtime. Jaxson Yancy started the scoring off with a 3 at the top of the key, but at the end of overtime it was once again the Nighthawks who had a couple chances at the rim that jsut couldn't get it to fall. The Greyhounds called a timeout with 6 seconds left hoping to have a better result than at the end of regulation. Jermaine Christopher got the ball heading full speed to the basket drawing the foul on the Nighthawks with just 1 second left. Jermaine would knock down both free throws to give the Greyhounds the 95-93 win.

ASU Mid-South was led by Jaxson Yancy's 32 points on 7-12 shooting from 3. Yancy also collected 5 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and had 4 steals. Jermaine Christopher ended with 17 points and 6 assists. CJ Washington ended with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks, and 4 steals. Taylor Conner rounded up the double figure scoring with 12 big points and collected 4 rebounds. Darren Wallace had 9, Santana Spivey with 8, and Hugh McFarland with 7 and 3 steals. 

The Greyhounds are back at home Saturday, January 18 as they host Shorter College. This will be the Greyhounds first game at home in over a month. Tip-off is set for 2:00.