An impressive debut by the newest member of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team wasn’t enough for the Golden Lions in their SWAC opener Saturday.
Alabama A&M defeated UAPB 89-79 at the AAMU Events Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Junior guard Doctor Bradley joined UAPB (3-11, 0-1 SWAC) for the spring semester and made his Golden Lion debut by starting Saturday’s game. He finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and four steals before fouling out with 43.7 seconds to play.
Bradley last played Division I basketball in the 2022-23 season with New Mexico State. That Aggies season was cut short amid hazing allegations within the program. According to multiple media reports, Bradley accepted a plea deal in October in connection with that case.
Freshman guard Caleb Jones helped with a 16-point performance, including shooting 4 of 7 from 3-point range. He also fouled out.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Despite Bradley and Jones’ efforts, UAPB led for just 17 seconds in the game. A 13-0 run in the first half gave UAPB a 28-27 lead, but Bulldog forward Chad Moodie retook the lead with a layup 17 seconds later.
Alabama A&M (5-9, 1-0) took its largest lead with 8:05 remaining, 70-57. The Golden Lions thought they had it down to 74-70 at the under-4-minute media timeout, but a review during the break ruled a previously called AAMU goaltend was a clean block, taking 2 points away from UAPB.
Within 10 seconds of play restarting, AAMU had its lead back up to 79-68 after Bilal Abdur-Rahman hit two free throws, then scored while drawing a foul off a subsequent turnover. The Golden Lions didn’t make another run afterward.
Moodie led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Abdur-Rahman followed with 18 after making 10 of his 11 free throws. Lorenzo Downey scored 17 points, and AC Bryant finished with 15.
This was the Bulldogs’ 10th straight win against UAPB, which hasn’t won a SWAC opener since 2021.