A look back at the Greyhounds’ season
ASU Mid-South men’s basketball announces pair of signings for 2020-2021 season
By RALPH HARDIN
ralphhardin@gmail.com
It’s been about a month since the ASU Mid-South Greyhounds put a cap on their season, finishing at #17 in the National Junior College Athletics Association’s national rankings. The team came just two points shy of joining the “Sweet Sixteen” in the NJCAA National Championship Tournament. In the deciding game, with the district championship on the line, the Greyhounds battled their way back from a 13-point halftime deficit to tie the score with under a minute remaining, but an offensive rebound ended up being the deciding factor in a 74-72 loss to #6 North Central Missouri in the NJCAA Central Plains District Championship Game on March 7, at The Dog House.
Their final 25-8 record is the second-best single-season record in school history, and the sophomore class went 47-17 in their two seasons, winning back-toback Region 2 Championships to continue the trend to four consecutive titles. The Greyhounds are an outstanding 96-33 (.744) over the last four years for an average of 24 wins per season in that span.
There were several highlights to the Greyhounds’ season. The team started the season with a pair of big wins in against North Lake College (80-66) and Parkland College (67-56) in the Greyhound Tipoff Classic.
The Greyhounds racked up some scoring records later in December, pouring on 139 points on Dec. 4 in a rout of the Crowley’s Ridge College JV, winning 139-47.
Only once did the Greyhounds drop back-to-back games, a pair of consecutive road losses to Itawamba Community College (73-61). The Greyhounds responded to the defeats by going on a nine-game winning streak. From Jan. 18 to Feb. 8, ASU Mid-South rattled off wins against every opponent they faced, hitting triple-digits in three of those wins. In all, the Greyhounds topped the 100-point mark five times this season.
After winning the final three games of the regular season in a big homestand, the Greyhounds headed to Harding University in Searcy for the NJCAA Region 2 Tournament, where ASU Mid-South dominated National Park College 92-78 before thumping North Arkansas College 104-83 to set up the showdown with North Central Missouri College in the NJCAA Central Plains District Championship.
With the 2020 season in the rear-view mirror, the Greyhounds are already building up a new crop of athletes for the 2021 campaign. Although sports programs all across the country are at or near a standstill due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, that doesn’t mean nothing is going on behind the scenes.
Already, ASU Mid-South has inked a pair of commitments from two outstanding high school players.
The Greyhounds opened the spring signing period by inking 6’2” guard Torien Stewart out of Southwind High School in Memphis, Tennessee.
Stewart averaged 15 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game for a 21-8 team that finished in second place in the 15-AAA conference. Southwind advanced to postseason play before falling in the Regional Quarterfinal to Memphis East, a team who had won the previous four Memphis City Championships before the Jaguars broke their streak just a week earlier as Stewart was named MVP of the Memphis City Championship Game.
After sitting out his junior season at Germantown High School, Stewart transferred for his senior year and led the Jaguars in scoring. He is the first signee for the 2020-21 season.
The Greyhounds have also added size for next season, with the signing of 6’7” Cullen Brown from Rivercrest High School in Wilson, Arkansas.
Brown averaged 10.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and shot over 60 percent from the field and over 70 percent from the free throw line for the Colts on his way to All-Conference honors. He was also named to the All-Tournament team at the 34th Annual Kell Classic Basketball Tournament held at Swifton Gym of Jackson County School District. Brown was a fouryear letterman at Rivercrest and grew nearly five inches between the start of his sophomore and junior year.
Rivercrest (24-8) is one of eight teams remaining in Arkansas whose season was put on hold by the current COVID-19 pandemic. After winning their last six games in a row to advance to the Arkansas Class 3A State Championship game, the Colts are scheduled to play conference-foe Osceola whom they have defeated three of four times this season, the last of which was a 59-54 victory in the Region 3 Championship Game to claim a top seed in the state tournament. At the time of this article, the Arkansas Activities Association has not determined if the game will be cancelled or played at a later date.
The Greyhounds are reloading the roster for the 2020-2021 season, starting with 6’2” guard Torien Stewart out of Southwind High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Stewart was named MVP of the 2020 Memphis City Championship Game.
