Greyhounds Fall in Region Championship Game

The Greyhounds battled to the end, but a 7-0 SAU Tech run in the final 3:17 was the difference in the game as ASU Mid-South ended their season with a 67-64 loss in the NJCAA Region 2 Championship Game held at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, Monday night.

Leading 31-30 at the half after trailing 11-0 to start the game, the Greyhounds broke a 60-60 tie on a Sam Smith 17-foot jumper with 4:41 left to play. Then after a steal, Tim Johnson drove the paint and hit a floater at the 4:08 mark to push the lead to 64-60.

But SAU Tech answered with a transition layup and a three-pointer at the 2:38 mark to take a 65-64 lead. The Rockets then got a steal and scored in transition at the 1:38 mark to give them a 3-point lead which proved to be the final count. Meanwhile, ASU Mid-South missed four three-pointers and the front end of a one-and-one in that span.

The Greyhounds shot just 39.4% from the field and 25.3% from the three-point line while SAU Tech hit 11 treys on their way to shooting 43.6% from the field. However, ASU Mid-South outscored the Rockets in the paint, 24-18, forced 11 turnovers while committing only 8, and knocked down 10-of-13 free throws (76.9%).

Braxtyn McCuien led the Greyhounds in scoring with 12 points off the bench including going 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Tim Johnson finished with 11 points, Sam Smith scored 9 points to go with a game-high 9 rebounds, and Jailen Anderson, Jeremiah Jones, and Christian Thompson finished with 8 points each with Anderson dishing out a team-high 4 assists.

The Greyhounds finish the season with a 14-12 overall record after six games were cancelled due to COVID and weather issues, finished second in NJCAA Region 2 play for the second year in a row after winning four consecutive region titles, and appeared in their tenth consecutive Region Championship Game after joining NJCAA Division II in 2012.