With seconds left in Monday’s game, a late foul call denied the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff a dramatic road comeback in men’s basketball.
UAPB fell 75-74 at Prairie View A&M despite taking the lead in the final seconds.
UAPB (10-12, 5-4 SWAC) trailed most of the night, but guard Rashad Williams nailed a 3-pointer with around 17 seconds remaining to give the Golden Lions their first lead, 74-73, since the first half.
Prairie View (9-13, 4-5) guard Charles Lane Jr. drew a foul call with 5.7 seconds on the clock and hit both free throws to restore the Panthers’ lead. After both teams called timeouts to set up the final play, UAPB was unable to get a shot away before the final buzzer sounded. The Panthers did well defensively, preventing UAPB from getting the look it likely wanted.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Williams finished with a game-high 28 points, with all but 2 coming in the second half. Joe French and Ismael Plet each scored 10 points. Plet also collected 10 rebounds.
Charles Smith IV led Prairie View with 23 points, followed by Javontae Hopkins with 21. Brian Miles scored 14 points with 12 rebounds.
The Golden Lions finished with 18 turnovers, which led to 19 Prairie View points.
After a back-and-forth first 9 minutes, Prairie View took the lead on a 3-pointer by Smith. The Panthers built their lead from there, leading by as much as 29-17. The Golden Lions shot 41% in the first half, but 11 turnovers limited their chances. Prairie View, which committed just four turnovers in the first half, led 37-29 at halftime after Smith beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer.
The Panthers stayed hot to start the second half, but Williams quickly got involved, too. He scored UAPB’s first 20 points of the second half, keeping the Golden Lions alive. Prairie View led by as much as 55-41, but Williams hit a pair of 3-pointers to close the gap.
UAPB got the deficit down to 70-65, but turnovers struck again. Prairie View guard Kevin McGaskey ripped the ball away from Lonnell Martin Jr., then fed Hopkins in transition for a layup.
Prairie View began to work the clock but failed to score as the Golden Lions scored layups on their next three possessions. Robert Lewis hit one with 48.3 to play to make it 72-71 and force a Panther timeout. Hopkins drew a foul and hit one of two free throws before Williams hit his go-ahead shot, extending UAPB’s run to 9-1.
Williams appeared to get away with an uncalled offensive foul just before his shot, but the Panthers got the foul call back on the other end, leading to the game-winning free throws.
UAPB ended the four-game road stretch 2-2.