Despite trailing heavily in the Region 2 race, Arkansas State University-Newport was primed for an upset of a recently ranked men’s basketball team in Southeast Arkansas College.
Justin Gill scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, Nehemiah Reedus totaled 18 points and 12 rebounds and ASU-Newport made a strong statement in H.O. Clemmons Arena on Monday with a 77-60 win over the Sharks, who fell out of the NJCAA Division II rankings after being ranked 24th. The Sharks, in their first year of competition, had been ranked as high as No. 21 during the month but lost for the third time in six games. Monday’s game was the fifth in eight days for the Sharks (15-5, 6-4 Region 2).
“Yeah, bad scheduling by me,” Sharks Coach Chad Kline joked. “I’ll give Newport all the credit. They were tougher, shot the ball better, played harder. I don’t think it was the five games in eight days.”
The Sharks were also missing Jalen Brown, who missed his second game in a row due to an unspecified injury.
The Aviators (9-13, 3-7 Region 2) jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed the Sharks, who fell into a 21-8 hole and only managed to pull within 30-22 with 3:27 left before halftime. The Aviators closed the first half on a 10-2 run capped by a Gill 3-pointer, one of three he made on the afternoon.
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SEARK never pulled to within single digits in the second half, while Gill led a second-half tear for ASU-Newport. The Aviators made three straight treys at one stretch and led by as much as 60-35 and 69-44.
Martez Burse scored 16 points and Gabriel Young Jr. had 11 points and 8 rebounds for the Aviators, who made ten 3-pointers.
“Our group of guys are mentally tough, and it’s starting to show,” said ASU-Newport Coach Logan Nutt. “They’re talented. They can compete with a lot of teams, what they have shown throughout the season, and we’ve been able to take punches in the nose through injuries and sicknesses. I’m very proud of this team for showing some mental toughness.”
SEARK was held to 6 successful 3-pointers. Tobias Prall had 3 treys and led the Sharks with 19 points, while Derek Magwood and Torrey Caswell added 12 apiece.
Jehu Wright, who had 15 points against Southern Arkansas University Tech on Saturday, went scoreless and fouled out Monday with 5:38 left. He was then ejected from the arena after earning his second technical foul.
Kline said a “well-needed” day off will be in the works for the Sharks before they return to practice ahead of a Thursday game at North Arkansas College in Harrison, which he said might be the team’s toughest road trip of the season. NorthArk was a half-game behind El Dorado’s South Arkansas College for the region lead as of Monday afternoon.
Six of SEARK’s seven games in February will be at H.O. Clemmons Arena, with the Feb. 17 SouthArk game the lone road trip.
“We’ve got eight games left. Are we going to cry, or are we going to show up and hoop?” Kline said.