National Park College's men's basketball team lost at home on Thursday for the first time ever as a National Junior College Athletic Association program.
The Nighthawks (10-2, 0-2) picked up the loss, 95-88, to their second opponent from Region 2 of Division II within the NJCAA. They began the season 9-0 before falling, 109-94, at another Division II Region 2 team on Jan. 12, North Arkansas College (11-6, 1-0), in Harrison.
Freshman guard Patrick Greene, of Wilbur D. Mills, and sophomore forward Braylon Steen, of Bryant, helped the Nighthawks overcome a double-digit deficit in the first half on Thursday against Southern Arkansas University Tech (12-7, 2-0) at The Kettle inside the NPC Wellness Center. The Nighthawks took a 43-42 lead into the halftime break.
The Rockets put some distance between themselves and the Nighthawks with six 3-pointers and a scoring outburst from Sheldon Stevens. National Park College made 16 of 18 free throws and got 11 points from sophomore K.J. Corder in the second half, but the Nighthawks were unable to make up the margin.
Greene led the hosts with 26 points. Corder finished with 19 points and Steen added 17, including 8-for-8 shooting at the free throw line. Freshman D.J. Martin, of Pine Bluff, chipped in 10 points.
Teams in the competitive Division II Region 2 are a combined 43-20. Arkansas State University Mid-South (10-5, 0-1) will travel from West Memphis on Saturday to face North Arkansas in Harrison. Each member of the region will play the other members at home and away before the end of the regular season.
National Park College and SAU Tech are not eligible for postseason competition this season as first-year members of the NJCAA. Players for both teams will be eligible for awards.
ASU Mid-South or North Arkansas will represent the conference at the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship tournament in March at the Danville Area Community College's Mary Miller Center in Illinois. The Division II Women's Basketball Championship tournament will return to North Arkansas' Pioneer Pavilion in March.
The Nighthawks will return to action on Monday with a home game against Rhema Bible College at 7 p.m. The women's game is scheduled to tip at 5 p.m.
The NJCAA, alongside the NJCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Coaches Association and in conjunction with the NCAA and the Commission on College Basketball, announced a legislation change on Friday regarding summer participation for student-athletes.
Effective immediately, NJCAA basketball programs will be permitted offseason practice and competition dates to adapt to newly adopted NCAA summer recruiting rules. The allowable dates that a NJCAA member will be permitted to have student-athletes on campus are June 16 through July 1; June 14-29, 2020; and June 13-29, 2021.
Any practice held during the allowable summer time period is regulated by the institutional policy of each member. Students must have been enrolled full-time in the previous spring semester, currently enrolled in the summer semester, enrolled full-time in the upcoming fall semester, have a current letter of intent for the upcoming academic year and have a physical on file.
The NJCAA sought to take advantage of the NCAA's new summer recruiting rules and give student-athletes a platform to be evaluated by coaches at four-year programs. NJCAA coaches will be the point of contact during the recruiting process with the aim of building relationships and connections from the NJCAA to the NCAA and NAIA.
"The NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association applauds the NJCAA Board of Regents approval of this historic legislation," stated NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association President Christopher DePew. "The NJCAA is about opportunities. We now have an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the NCAA and their coaches, which will benefit our student-athletes both academically and athletically.
"It is our responsibility to provide this opportunity for our student-athletes and increase the likelihood for them to achieve their dreams and complete their two-year college degree and move on to the next chapter in their life, a four-year college degree. This legislation will also help our institutions and coaches to stay current with other levels of competition that have the opportunity to work with their student-athletes during the summer and transport them to events affordably and safely.
"In addition, this legislation allows NJCAA member colleges the ability to provide an affordable opportunity for our student-athletes to be evaluated and recruited by NCAA and NAIA coaches at all levels of competition and makes our NJCAA member coaches the primary point of contact for recruitment of their student-athletes."
Sports on 01/19/2019