A gym full of elementary school students watched the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team dominate in its final game of the calendar year Tuesday afternoon.
UAPB blew out Ecclesia College 120-61 at H.O. Clemmons Arena in the Golden Lions’ non-conference finale. UAPB Coach Solomon Bozeman said after Sunday’s 121-57 loss at Texas, it felt good to return home and win big.
“Didn’t play the way we wanted against Texas,” Bozeman said. “Got ugly really, really quick, but I thought the guys came back today and had a sense of urgency. Thought we did a great job sharing the ball, and I thought we got better defensively. Still some things we gotta clean up on the defensive end, but I thought our guys got better today.”
UAPB (3-10) shot 64.4% from the field and made 20 of 32 attempts from 3-point range. After three early lead changes, the Golden Lions went on to lead by as much as 62 points late in the game.
All 11 Golden Lions who played scored, with seven reaching double figures.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Junior forward Dennis Asoro led with 16 points, while guard Zach Reinhart and forward Kyle Brown each scored 15. Junior guard Quentin Bolton Jr. and freshman Chop Paljor had 14 each.
Bolton said UAPB’s shooting success came from good ball movement, and the Golden Lions are at their best when everyone plays together.
“That’s something that Coach preaches, and something that we all want,” Bolton said. “That’s a big goal to keep everybody connected. Once everybody stay connected, it all comes together.”
Reinhart finished as the leading 3-point shooter, making 5 of 7. Bolton made 4 of 6, and Paljor 4 of 8.
Junior guard Christian Moore scored 13 points with 13 assists, while freshman Raphael Dumont scored 10 points with 11 rebounds.
Bozeman for this UAPB team, success starts with Moore.
“When he’s making the right basketball play, he makes our team go,” Bozeman said. “Then, Raphael Dumont, another guy that if he makes the right play, he’s another guy that can take our team to another level. We got guys that can really shoot the basketball, but we just gotta make the right play and play as a team. When we do that, we have shooting numbers like this.”
Ecclesia (0-16) dressed five players, who each played the entire game. Senior guard Justin Reaves scored a game-high 26 points with six rebounds. He made four of Ecclesia’s seven 3-pointers.
After the game, the Golden Lions went into the stands to celebrate with the elementary school children, all from various schools around Pine Bluff.
Bozeman said he loved seeing his players interact with the kids.
“I talk to them all the time about embracing Pine Bluff, doing it for the city,” Bozeman said. “Just giving these kids hope. Our guys played with a lot of energy, and then they embraced the kids after. I just love seeing all the kids smiling and get hyped up. That’s a beautiful feeling, and that’s what we’re about.”
UAPB’s next game will be the SWAC opener at Alabama A&M on Jan. 4. Bozeman said he will give his players about a week to be with family for Christmas before bringing them back to get ready for the Bulldogs.