Southeast Arkansas College chalked up its fourth win in a row Wednesday night, beating defending national champion National Park College 91-64 in the first round of the NJCAA Division II Region 2 men’s basketball tournament in Harrison.
SEARK (20-8), the No. 4 seed in the 8-team tournament, has extended its inaugural season of basketball with a semifinal date against tournament host North Arkansas College (23-8), the regular-season region champion. That game will tip off at 1 p.m. Friday, with the winner facing either Arkansas State University-Newport or Southern Arkansas University Tech in the championship round at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Statistics from Wednesday’s game were not immediately available, but SEARK won a rematch of Sunday’s 83-74 victory at H.O. Clemmons Arena. A 35-point outing in that game by Derek Magwood earned him the region’s Division II Player of the Week honor.
In Wednesday’s meeting, the Sharks led by 30 points on a number of occasions in the second half, not giving National Park (14-13) a chance for a comeback.
The Region 2 and Region 16 champions will advance to play in the Central Plains District Final on March 8 for an automatic berth in the 20-team NJCAA tournament.
In women’s basketball, No. 5-seed SEARK will take on No. 4-seed University of Arkansas-Cossatot at 3 p.m. Thursday in their Region 2 first-rounder in Harrison. The winner will play National Park on Friday.