For the second straight season, Mississippi Valley State’s men’s basketball team walked into H.O. Clemmons Arena and stunned the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
The Delta Devils upset UAPB 70-69 on senior night, knocking the Golden Lions out of second place in the SWAC entering the final week of the regular season. UAPB Coach Solomon Bozeman said the Golden Lions can only blame themselves.
“They made plays down the stretch, and we didn’t,” Bozeman said. “It’s that simple. This game is all on us. This team has just got to be disciplined. We’ve been preaching it all year, and hopefully, a loss to Valley will wake the guys up. Hopefully, it wakes them up.”
UAPB (12-17, 9-7 SWAC) had the ball down 68-66 with under a minute to play, but Valley junior X’Zaevion Barnett, a member of Pine Bluff High School’s 2022-23 state championship team, stole the ball from senior guard Quion Williams, leading to a vital layup by redshirt junior Patrick Punch to make it a two-possession game.
Valley (3-27, 2-14) fouled UAPB senior forward Jaquan Scott with 10.2 seconds remaining. He split a pair at the free throw line, at which point UAPB immediately fouled Valley junior guard Michael James, who had a chance to put the game away at the free throw line.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
James missed the front end of the 1-and-1, giving UAPB hope trailing 70-67. UAPB senior guard Alex Mirhosseini, who was 4 of 6 from three-point range, drew a three-point shooting foul against Valley guard Xzayvion Childress. Mirhosseini made the first two free throws but missed the one that could have tied the game.
The Golden Lions quickly put James back at the line. He missed the front end again, but Williams’ potential game-winning heave hit too high off the backboard as time expired, giving Valley its second conference win of the season.
Bozeman said this was a significant loss for UAPB.
“This team, we gotta respond, now,” Bozeman said. “How are we going to respond? Lose to the worst team in the country. There’s gotta be some type of pride about that. They came and took it. Hat’s off to them for finding a way to get the (win). We had opportunities down the stretch to make a play, and we didn’t. But at the end of the day, it shouldn’t have came down to that.”
UAPB had led for 22:03 of the game. The Golden Lions’ largest lead was a 23-10 edge with 9:45 to play in the first half.
The Golden Lions led 29-18 when Valley junior Mussa Mzein scored a layup while drawing a foul with 5:55 remaining in the first half. A brief confrontation after the whistle between Barnett and UAPB guard Ahmad Johnson resulted in Johnson receiving a technical foul. The officials then assessed Williams a technical foul in the aftermath as he protested the call.
James made all four free throws. Mzein missed his, but the result was a six-point possession that cut UAPB’s lead to 29-24.
Bozeman said the Golden Lions lost their composure, believing Valley was committing fouls that weren’t being called.
“They threw some cheap shots,” Bozeman said. “They started getting in our heads. They knew what they were doing. They came in, they were physical, throwing cheap shots at our guys, and we didn’t handle it well. We went to arguing with the refs, with the officials, but we’ll be better. We’ll be better from it. We gotta learn from it. It’s all about growth.”
UAPB went on to lead 39-35 at halftime. The Delta Devils tied the game at 43, 47 and 49 before James hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 11:47 remaining. It was part of a 13-1 run that saw the Delta Devils go from trailing to leading 60-50 over a span of 3:32. Valley led the rest of the game.
James led Valley with 18 points. Childress and senior Daniel Mayfield added 14 apiece, with Punch scoring 11.
Scott led UAPB with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Mirhosseini scored 14 points, with Williams adding 13 points and 12 rebounds. Mirhosseini’s four three-pointers were the only ones made for UAPB. The rest of the team shot a combined 0 for 15.
This loss dropped UAPB to 0-4 this season in rematches against teams it previously defeated.
The Golden Lions will be back in action at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Jackson State, following the 5 p.m. women’s game.