After winning last season’s thriller in Conway, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is set to host a rematch with Central Arkansas.
The UAPB men’s basketball team will face UCA at 6 p.m. Saturday at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.
UAPB (1-8) is seeking its first win against a Division I foe this season, and this will be the only home game against a Division I team prior to SWAC play.
The Golden Lions defeated UCA 85-83 last year at the Farris Center and will be going for a second straight win against the Bears, though UAPB will need to do so with a vastly different roster.
One of the new players who could make an impact is freshman guard Chop Paljor. The 6-foot-8, 175-pound Nebraska native played sparingly early in the season but had a breakout 22-point performance against Missouri on Nov. 24. Last time out, he scored 15 points against Kansas State after shooting 3 of 9 from 3-point range.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Guards Christian Moore and Dante Sawyer, along with forward Klemen Vuga, all enter this game averaging 10 or more points per game, though Moore has missed the past two contests. The Golden Lions’ health could be a concern on Saturday.
This will be UAPB’s only game this season against a Division I team from Arkansas, though the Golden Lions defeated non-Division I foe Champion Christian from Hot Springs last month and will host Ecclesia College from Springdale on Dec. 17.
For UCA (2-6), this game will be the second of three straight against in-state foes. The Bears are coming off a 63-57 road loss to Little Rock and will go on to face Arkansas at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock on Dec. 14.
This will be UCA’s first trip to Pine Bluff since 1994.
The Bears have lost four of their past five games and have one victory against a Division I opponent, a 92-83 home win against UNC Asheville.
One noteworthy player returning from last season is senior Elias Cato. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound Australian is averaging 15 points and five rebounds per game. He led UCA with 22 points in last year’s UAPB game.
Freshman guard Layne Taylor leads the Bears in scoring this season. The Farmington native averages 16 points per game and has made 25 3-pointers this season. He makes 3.1 per game, which is the third most in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The Bears average nine made 3-pointers per game, third most in the ASun, but that comes thanks to shooting 255 of them, fourthmost in the league. Their 28.2 percent shooting from deep is worst in the conference.
The Golden Lions’s opponents so far have shot 35.2 percent from 3-point range, seventh-best in the SWAC. While the Bears shoot often from deep, they will also fake shots to get defenders off their feet, then drive to the rim. UAPB must respect both possibilities when defending.
This game and the Ecclesia game will be UAPB’s only home games in December.