The leading scorer from Southeast Arkansas College’s inaugural men’s basketball season is staying in Pine Bluff.
SEARK sophomore Derek Magwood announced his commitment to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff late on Monday.
Magwood led the Sharks with 518 points (19.2 per game) and was one of two players to surpass 500 last season, SEARK’s first. He appeared in 27 of SEARK’s 29 games with 26 starts.
The 6-foot-8 Jonesboro native shot 45.5 percent from the field and 67.5 percent from the free throw line. He scored 11 or more points in all but two of the games he played and recorded 10 double-doubles.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Magwood’s season high was a 35-point outing in SEARK’s home finale against National Park College, during which he shot 65.2 percent from the field. He also collected 12 rebounds with four assists.
Six days earlier, he scored 30 points with 15 rebounds and five assists in a road win against South Arkansas.
His best rebounding performance came in a January game at Shorter College in which he collected 17 rebounds, nine offensive and eight defensive, to go with 25 points.
Magwood helped lead SEARK to a 20-9 debut season with a 9-7 record in Region 2. The Sharks earned the No. 4 seed in the Region 2 tournament and reached the semifinals. He scored 20 points with nine rebounds and five assists in the Sharks’ first round win, followed by 16 points and 14 boards in the 75-74 semifinal defeat.
SEARK plays its games on UAPB’s court, and Magwood will now continue to play at H.O. Clemmons Arena as a Golden Lion.
Magwood scored and rebounded for SEARK at a level similar to what junior Doctor Bradley did last year for UAPB. Bradley, also 6-foot-8, averaged 19.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in half a season with the Golden Lions before transferring to Bethune-Cookman.
UAPB lost most of last year’s roster to the transfer portal, leaving the door open for a player such as Magwood to play a significant role next season.