In his final home game with Southeast Arkansas College, sophomore Derek Magwood led the Sharks past the reigning national champions.
The SEARK men’s basketball team defeated National Park College 83-74 on Sunday at H.O. Clemmons Arena to conclude its inaugural regular season.
Magwood, one of five players SEARK (19-8, 9-7 Region 2) honored before the game for sophomore night, scored 35 points to pace the Sharks after scoring 30 in his previous game.
Magwood said he and the other sophomores came into the game wanting to play hard in their final home game and take momentum into the upcoming Region 2 tournament.
“I came in with a great mindset,” Magwood said. “My teammates came in with a great mindset today. We just all came to hoop, so it felt pretty good to get a win.”
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The game featured 12 lead changes, most of them in the first half. The teams were tied at 42 at halftime, with Magwood leading the way with 14 points. He scored first in the second half to restore the Sharks’ lead, though National Park (14-12, 8-8) soon led 47-44.
Back-to-back shots by Magwood put SEARK back in front. The Nighthawks tied the game two more times but never led again.
With the game tied at 60, Magwood used a 3-point play to start a 9-0 run which put the Sharks ahead for good. National Park got as close as 75-73 down the stretch but never tied the game or took the lead again.
SEARK coach Chad Kline said getting the ball to Magwood more often led to the go-ahead run.
“I think he put us on his back the last two nights,” Kline said. “He went out there and was tremendous on both ends of the floor, I thought. Kind of gave us a spark when we needed it.”
NPC didn’t score from the field in the final two minutes, and Magwood scored the game’s final points to wrap up a game-ending 8-1 run.
Three of Magwood’s fellow sophomores followed his scoring lead. Tobias Prall scored 14 points, Andrew Johnson scored 13, and Jalen Brown scored 10.
NPC sophomore Tevin Tate led the Nighthawks with 17 points, followed by Shamir Caruthers with 15.
Pine Bluff High School graduate Randy Emerson, now an NPC freshman, scored 14 points. He scored 7 of NPC’s final 11 points, including two 3-pointers, as he tried to lead the Nighthawks back in the game’s final minutes.
This win gives SEARK the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Region 2 tournament. Kline called it shocking for SEARK to have the inaugural regular season it had.
“They were the defending national champions, National Park,” Kline said. “To get a sweep against them, we’ve just had a bunch of guys that are high-character guys that play hard and like each other. They’re just a fun group to be around.”
WOMEN: NPC 74, SEARK 56
Much of the second half of the women’s game was spent at the free throw line as National Park College pulled away after a strong start by SEARK.
Each team attempted 10 free throws in the first half but matched or exceeded that total in the third quarter alone. National Park (20-5, 12-2) shot 11 of 12 from the line in a third quarter which saw them outscore the Lady Sharks 25-12 to pull away after a close first half. The Lady Nighthawks finished the game 21 of 30 at the line.
SEARK (11-10, 6-7) made 6 of 10 from the line in the third and finished the game 15 of 28 as the Lady Sharks struggled to make free throws despite drawing fouls with ease throughout the game.
The Lady Sharks led 17-13 after the first quarter, but NPC outscored SEARK 18-8 in the second. NPC sophomore Hannah McLain gave the Nighthawks their first lead 3:03 before halftime. SEARK freshman Kentayla Williams briefly gave the Lady Sharks the lead back, but NPC finished the half on a 9-2 run and led the rest of the game.
NPC freshman Khyra Garrett led all scorers with 16 points, while Williams led SEARK with 13.