Greyhounds Win Tough Battle Over Rockets to Advance

With just over a minute to play, the Greyhounds turned a 1-point lead into a 74-68 victory over the SAU Tech Rockets at The Dog House in West Memphis to advance to their 11th straight NJCAA Region 2 Tournament Championship Game.

ASU Mid-South first had to mount a comeback after trailing 37-32 at the half that was capped by a last-second three-pointer by the Rockets' Phil March. But down 44-37 with 16:30 remaining, the Greyhounds got a 3-pointer from Jesse Washington, a tough shot in the paint from Christian Thompson and a transition layup from Jailen Anderson to tie the game 44-44 with 15:24 to go. The teams then battled even with neither team leading by more than 5 points for the next 12-plus minutes.

Allen Taylor's 3-pointer with 2:42 remaining pulled the Rockets within a point, 64-63 with 2:42 on the clock. After defenses got turnovers on both teams' next three possessions, McCuien was fouled on a three-point shot and calmly sank all three shots for a 67-63 lead with 1:02 left to play. Then with under a minute to play, the Greyhounds got the stop they needed and SAU Tech was forced to foul. Kyrin Dock hit 1-of-2 free throws for a 68-63 lead, but March hit a layup to pull within three points with 27.2 seconds left. McCuien was then fouled at the 24.7 mark and hit both free throws, and after another stop, Anderson was fouled and hit two more for a 72-65 lead with 16.2 seconds to play. SAU Tech's March then hit a three-pointer and McCuien was fouled and hit two more free throws for the final count.

The Greyhounds shot 43.5% from the field to the Rockets' 40.3% and neither team had a real edge from the arc with ASU Mid-South shooting 26.7% to SAU Tech's 28.0%. And despite winning the rebounding battle 42-30, the Rockets shot just 43.8% from the free throw line to the Greyhounds' outstanding 81.1% while turning the ball over just 11 times.

Jailen Anderson led the way with 20 points and a game-high 5 assists while Braxtyn McCuien scored 18 points and pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds. Christian Thompson put in 16 points, and Jesse Washington chipped in 12 points to go with 7 boards and 4 assists.

The Greyhounds (21-10) advance to the NJCAA Region 2 Tournament Championship Game Monday at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, to take on National Park College (19-8). The teams split during the season with the Greyhounds taking a 72-70 win at home on January 26 and the Nighthawks winning 88-87 in overtime in Hot Springs on February 25. The winner advances to the NJCAA Central Plains District Championship and will host Metropolitan College (19-8) out of Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, March 11.