Two tough road games will challenge the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s three-game winning streak this weekend.
The UAPB men’s basketball team will travel to Southern at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Grambling State at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
UAPB (8-10, 3-2 SWAC) guard Rashad Williams, the reigning SWAC player of the week, said the Golden Lions’ winning streak is partially thanks to lessons learned from early-season losses.
“These past three games, everything that we’ve tried to focus on, we built on those things, and we were able to pull those out,” Williams said. “Playing together. Moving the ball. Defending, I know that’s been our Achilles heel, that and rebounding. We’re still not where we want to be, but for the most part, we’re making good strides in those areas.”
UAPB did not hold any non-conference Division I opponent below 83 points, with six surpassing 100, but the Golden Lions’ defense has mostly improved since. UAPB held Alabama A&M to 63 in the SWAC opener, Texas Southern to 67 in Houston and the top-ranked scoring offense in the conference to 72 points in Monday’s win against Bethune-Cookman.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Williams said the Golden Lions changed their defensive strategy.
“We’ve been sitting in gaps more,” Williams said. “Early on in the season, we were playing up the line, almost kind of deny. Since we switched to pack line defense, we got guys in gaps, guys being more active, more ball pressure, things like that. It’s just giving a little bit more resistance, making it hard on the offense to score.”
There have been slip-ups. Alabama State scored 83 points, and Florida A&M reached 97. Southern and GSU rank in the middle of the SWAC offensively but play good defense, so UAPB will need to match their efforts.
Southern (9-9, 3-2) lost its past two games but is 6-0 at home this season. The Jaguars have the current top scorer in the SWAC, junior guard Tai’Reon Joseph. He is averaging 27 points in SWAC games.
UAPB coach Solomon Bozeman said Joseph plays tough and aggressive basketball.
“He can score it at three different levels,” Bozeman said. “Really good at getting downhill. Very confident in his game, so he’s a tough cover, man. Anytime you playing against a guy that has a green light like that, you just gotta be physical with him, but you gotta hope to contain him and things of that nature. Just make sure he sees hands at all times.”
Grambling (8-10, 4-1) enters the weekend in a three-way tie for first place with Jackson State and Alabama State and is 5-1 at home, the one loss coming 54-52 to Texas Southern in a 2023 SWAC championship game rematch. The Tigers have won three-straight games since and can make it four if they beat Mississippi Valley State on Saturday before facing UAPB on Monday.
GSU has held SWAC opponents to a conference-best 60 points per game. Bozeman said the Tigers are long and active.
“They have really good size,” Bozeman said. “Got a 6-10 big, 6-7 wings, and then they mix it up a lot. They’ll play some man, then they’ll play some zone. I think they do a really good job of mixing it up, so, gotta be prepared for that.”