Greyhounds go 1-1 in John Wood Classic
From ASU MID-SOUTH
asumidsouthsports.com
The ASU Mid-South Greyhounds traveled to Quincy, Illinois to partake in John Wood’s Classic over the weekend, ultimately earning a 1-1 split against some tough competition.
Kirkwood 82, Greyhounds 60 On Friday, the Greyhounds had yet another nationally ranked opponent on their schedule. This time, it would be the Eagles of Kirkwood, the #6 team in NJCAA D2. They would end up dropping it 82-60. “The slow start hurt us, but once we finally settled down it was a one possession game for the rest of the half. We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We are showing spurts of what we can become, we just have to put it together for a full 40 minute game. I have to do a better job of controlling my emotions because these guys feed off me. I have to stay more even killed, and not getting too high or too low. I think that will help them feel more relaxed and just be willing to play more.” head coach Cody Hastings had to say after the game.
Within the first 3 minutes of play, the Eagles jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead. The Greyhounds finally settled in and would eventually cut the lead to 8 on multiple occasions, but that would be as close as they would get. The second half was much like the first couple minutes of the game, as the Eagles would continue to separate themselves from the Greyhounds. Although, ASU Mid-South would hit 10 3’s, Kirkwood would up those 10 and hit 12 of their own.
Another big factor was the 16 turnovers the Eagles caused the Greyhounds to commit, compared to the Eagles only committing 6 allowing the Eagles to outscore the Greyhounds 23-3 in points off turnovers.
Greyhounds 72, John Wood CC 65 The ASU Mid-South Greyhounds would face the host John Wood Community College in the finale of the John Wood Classic on Saturday, November 9th. The Blazers faced the Greyhounds Region 2 foe North Arkansas College the night before defeating them 80-74. That would be their only win against Region 2 this weekend as the Greyhounds lead wire to wire to defeat the Blazers 72-65.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys right now with how these guys responded after last night. We harped about energy and effort and what it takes to win against good teams, and these guys came out and showed it from start to finish. We missed quite a few easy shots at the basket which we can fix, just have to be more on balance and go up stronger. Scoring 72 points shooting 33 percent from the field is very eye opening. We have the ability to light up the scoreboard, but we have to have the ability to finish especially the shots at the basket. We also missed quite a few open ones which I believe we will start hitting as the season goes on. What I was most pleased with, was the defensive effort that we had from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer. We flew around and fixed mistakes on the go which is something we haven’t been doing in previous games. I believe these guys are growing and starting to put it together day by day. Not a bad way to start your birthday than we a big win.” Head Coach Cody Hastings had to say after the game with a big grin on his face.
Santana Spivey got the scoring started after a steal and a lay-up, and the Greyhounds never looked back. They would push their lead all the way up to 18, and would maintain a double digit lead for majority of the first half. Halftime sounded and the road team would find themselves leading 37-22. The second half started and here came the home team. John Wood would come out guns a blazing as they would connect on 8 of their 19 three pointers to help them get back into the game, cutting the lead to 3 on multiple occasions. It was a 63-60 Greyhound lead as the teams would head to their benches for the under 4 media timeout. Jermaine Christopher would drive and find Spivey in the corner for his 2nd 3 of the half pushing the Greyhound lead to 6. That was as close as the Blazers would get as timely free throws from the visiting team would seal the deal.
Game stats
Jermaine Christopher would lead the Greyhounds with 17 points and 4 rebounds, as fellow freshman Santana Spivey would score 13 and Jaxson Yancy with 14. Both Spivey and Yancy would pull down 5 rebounds. Davonta Tucker would lead the Greyhounds with 12 rebounds.
Up next
They are back in action this Thursday night, as the Greyhounds take on Itawamba Community College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m., immediately following the women’s game. For more on ASU Mid-South Athletics, go to www.asumidsouthsports. com.
The ASU Mid-South Greyhounds went 1-1 in recent action in the John Wood Classic in Quincy, Illinois.
Photo courtesy of ASU Mid-South
