A second half scoring drought allowed Alabama State to pull away Saturday night in Pine Bluff.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team lost 75-63 to the Hornets at H.O. Clemmons Arena, the Golden Lions’ third straight defeat.
Alabama State (11-14, 7-5 SWAC) led 38-35 at halftime, then opened the second half on a 21-5 run with the Golden Lions making just one of their 12 shot attempts and missing all seven 3-point tries.
UAPB guard Zach Reinhart ended the run with a 3-pointer with 10:35 to play. Freshman guard Chop Paljor added another 3 just over a minute later.
Starting with Reinhart’s shot, UAPB outscored the Hornets 23-16 the rest of the game but never got closer than 73-63 with 2:23 to play.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAPB (4-21, 1-11) coach Solomon Bozeman said the Golden Lions didn’t pass the ball as well in the second half as they had in the first half.
“One of our key focuses on our team is moving the basketball and make sure we get paint touches,” Bozeman said. “We didn’t do that in the second half, so that’s why we went on the scoring drought. … In the first half, we had nine assists. Guys were moving it.”
UAPB guards Christian Moore and Raphael Dumont, who have started a combined 29 games this season, did not play until deep into the second half. Senior forward Klemen Vuga, who has started 13 games, did not play despite dressing out.
In their places, Paljor made his fourth start, and Junior forward Kyle Brown made his sixth. Brown went on to lead UAPB with 13 points. Paljor scored 6. Walk-on guard Landon Johnson played a season-high eight minutes, all in the second half, and finished with 3 points and a steal.
Bozeman said with all the team’s struggles this year, he wanted to try something different with the lineup.
“I was proud to see Kyle Brown be aggressive,” Bozeman said. “He can score it down low for us. He can also step out and shoot it. So, I was trying to find that low-block presence and the guy that’s going to be aggressive, and I thought he took advantage of his opportunity tonight. … Chop is a freshman that we think is going to be really good.”
The first half featured six lead changes. Alabama State led 6-0 early, but UAPB went on to lead by as much as 18-13.
Alabama State used a 9-0 run to take the lead late in the first half. Brown ended the first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but the Golden Lions never led again.
Brown said UAPB played together in the first half.
“We really was competing, moving the ball around,” Brown said. “We was figuring out the defense. They was doubling (Doctor Bradley) on all ball screens, so others were able to score and make plays in first half.”
Freshman guard Caleb Jones scored 11 points for UAPB, and junior guard Doctor Bradley finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. UAPB connected on 12 of 29 3-pointers, with Jones and Reinhart making three apiece.
ASU senior guard TJ Madlock led the Hornets with 20 points and eight rebounds.