UAPB narrowly defeats Florida A&M
Both offenses were hot on a cold Saturday afternoon in Pine Bluff.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team defeated Florida A&M 9997 at H.O. Clemmons Arena for its first SWAC home win this season.
UAPB (7-10, 2-2) averaged 68 points per game in its first three conference games but got back to its non-conference form Saturday. The Golden Lions made 15 of 28 shots from 3-point range, led by Rashad Williams and Joe French. Williams scored 27 points with six 3-pointers, while French finished with 21 points and made five 3-pointers.
Kylen Milton scored 17 points with seven rebounds, and forward Caleb Stokes scored a career-high 15 points and three made 3-pointers. Lonnell Martin Jr. was perfect from the line on a day UAPB made 24 of 33 free throws.
UAPB Coach Solomon Bozeman said the rest the Golden Lions got this past week after Monday’s game was canceled helped get the offense back in rhythm.
“When we came back from the [Christmas] break, we were two-a-days,” Bozeman said. “It was a lot of running. Guys’ bodies were sore. I think that break that we had against Houston, getting snowed in, I think that actually helped our guys. Our guys were able to get their legs back underneath them, and I think guys were fresh tonight, especially on that offensive end.”
Florida A&M (2-13, 0-4) senior Jalen Speer led the Rattlers with 29 points and five 3-pointers. FAMU made 10 3-pointers but did a lot of its work in the post, outscoring UAPB 56-28 in the paint.
UAPB had to rally from a 4026 first half deficit. The Golden Lions cut it to 46-42 by halftime, then tied the game at 50 early in the second half with a 3-pointer from French. FAMU took the lead back, but Williams tied the game at 57 with a 3-pointer, then Stokes hit from deep to give UAPB the lead for good.
French said UAPB’s come
back started with energy and defense.
“We were kind of flat, and we just didn’t have any urgency,” French said. “So, we corrected that in the huddles and ended up making a push to cut it to 4 at halftime, which helped us win the game.”
The Golden Lions led the rest of the game, but FAMU didn’t go away. Speer nailed a 3 with around 14 seconds left to make it 97-94. He missed a 3 on the next possession, but the Rattlers found him wide open after an offensive rebound. He didn’t miss the second try, making it 99-97 with four seconds left. FAMU couldn’t foul UAPB quickly enough as the time ran out.
The second half featured several delays and emotional moments.
There was a roughly 20-minute delay to the start of the second half as officials worked on a problem with one of the rims. Tensions rose with 12:19 remaining when a battle for a loose ball got physical after the whistle, leading to a technical foul on FAMU’s Ja’Derryus Eatmon. Bozeman later got a technical after arguing a charge call. There were several reviews, one of which resulted in a flagrant foul call against FAMU’s Keith Lamar for a blow to Milton’s head.
Bozeman said the Golden Lions handled it all well.
“Our guys are prepared for whatever,” Bozeman said. “Our practices are really, really hard, so they’re prepared. They can go through whatever. The long delays, they can go through being tired. They’ve grown in that area.”