ASU Mid-South men’s hoops on a hot streak

From ASU MID-SOUTH

asumidsouthsports.com

After a sluggish start to the season, the ASU Men’s Basketball team has been on a hot streak, rattling off _ve straight wins and taking nine of their last eleven contests.

Greyhounds take a bite out of Sharks

The new and upcoming Sharks have been making noise all throughout junior college basketball this season. The _rst time these two teams met in early December, it was the Greyhounds from ASU Mid-South who would pull out a 4 point win.

“How about these guys, huh? They continue to keep _nding different ways to win. We’ve been having a different person step up each night and it has been an honor to see each guy get their moment and do what they do best. We tell them all the time, you never know whose night it’s going to be. One night it might be one person’s night, and the next night it could be someone completely different, and these guys are taking advantage of their opportunity. I’m just happy for them. However, we do have some things we need to get back and get corrected before Thursday. We pushed the lead to 16, and we allow them to get them to tie the game up late. We have to be better being more focused at those times and execute better. That’s solely on me though. I should’ve called a timeout and just settle us down, so there’s no one to blame for that other than me. But again, our guys bailed me out and were able to pull it out for us down the stretch.” head coach Cody Hastings had to say after the game.

Wallace came out _ring early hitting back to back 3’s to start the game forcing an early Southeast Arkansas timeout. ASU Mid-South would quickly push it to a 14-5 lead, but the Sharks would respond in a big way going on a 16-2 run to give them a 5 point lead. ASU Mid-South would make another run to regain the lead end up taking a 37-29 lead into halftime.

The Greyhounds came out hot from deep as they connected on their _rst 3 shot attempts. They would continue to use the deep ball as Hugh McFarland knocked down a 3 point shot to give the Greyhounds a 16 point lead with just over 13 minutes remaining. Just like in the _rst half, Southeast Arkansas made another big run to get back into the game. This time, a 12-0 run got the game tied up at 70 with 4 minutes remaining in the game. CJ Washington drained a fadeaway jumper to give the Greyhounds back the lead, and on the very next possession it was Washington _nding a cutting Yancy to give ASU Mid-South a two possession lead. ASU Mid-South would then start draining the clock and knocking down free throws to seal the game.

Southeast Arkansas’s Derek Magwood led all scorers with 29. Tobias Harris was the only other Shark in double _gures with 15. Cayden Gibson scored 8 off the bench.

Darren Wallace led ASU Mid-South with 20 points going 6 of 8 from 3. CJ Washington scored 17 and Jaxson Yancy _nished with 12. Jermaine Christopher scored 9. Santana Spivey and Taylor Conner both _nished with 7.

Greyhounds down Rockets to keep rolling

A hungry SAU Tech Rockets team traveled to West Memphis Thursday night to take on the ASU Mid-South Greyhounds. When these teams _rst met back in January, the Greyhounds had to come from behind in the second half to pull out the win. Much like the _rst meeting, it was the Greyhounds _nding a way to dig themselves out of a hole at the end.

“Wow. I’m still trying to process everything that just happened. First and foremost, hats off to SAU Tech and the _ght those guys had. They battled back from double _gures and had a two possession lead just over a minute left. Those guys played extremely hard. I’m just thankful we were able to execute one last time to give us a shot at the end and how about Jermaine and that _nish. Calm, cool, and collected. We told him in the timeout if no one stops you at the rim you go up strong and _nish, and he did just that. We had two guys in the corner ready to take the shot if they were left open, but Jermaine made the right play and I couldn’t be more proud of him for how he _nished as well as the rest of our guys. We’re going to let this one sit for a bit, and enjoy a nice day off tomorrow before we get ready to head to Shorter on Monday. Have to keep stacking the days.” head coach Cody Hastings had to say after the game.

The Greyhounds and Rockets met for what again would be another game that came down to the wire. The Greyhounds took control of the game early getting an 11 point lead in the _rst half before taking an 8 point lead into the break. Both teams came out in the second half, but it was the Rockets who would come from down 15 to take a 5 point lead with just over a minute remaining in the game. Darren Wallace would hit a big 3 to pull the Greyhounds within 1 with 38 seconds remaining. The Rockets would get fouled and go 2 for 2 from the free throw line, which the Greyhounds responded right back with 2 free throws from Jermaine Christopher making it a 1 point game with just 15 seconds remaining. SAU Tech ran off 7 seconds before ASU Mid-South was able to foul. The Rockets would miss the _rst free throw before making the second and calling a timeout. Out of the timeout, CJ Washington fed a sprinting Jermaine Christopher who blew by his defender and got all the way to the basket making the layup and converting the and 1, giving the Greyhounds an 86-85 lead with 3 seconds remaining. The Rockets got up one last heave, but it was wide left.

Javon Smith led all scorers with 26. Ja’Various Thompson scored 20, and Fred’Travious Benjamin with 19.

CJ Washington led the Greyhounds in scoring with 21 and grabbing 7 rebounds. Jermaine Christopher scored 17 and dished out 9 assists. Jaxson Yancy and Darren Wallace each scored 16 going a combined 8-17 from 3. Hayden Drumwright with 5, Davonta Tucker and De’Shun Jackson both with 4, and Taylor Conner with 3.

Up Next

With the win, the Greyhounds move to 15-11 overall and 9-3 in Region 2 play. ASU Mid-South is back in action this Thursday night as they host South Arkansas Community College in the penultimate home game of the season. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m., inside The Dog House.

Jermaine Christopher (3), a freshman point guard for the Greyhounds, from Cabot, Arkansas, drives through the defenders for ASU Mid-South.

Photos courtesy of ASU Mid-South

Hayden Drumwright (0), a sophomore guard from Hernando, Mississippi, lays one up for ASU Mid-South.