AUBURN, Ala. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff fell to 1-4 in men’s basketball with a 72-59 loss to Auburn (4-0) on Monday night. The Golden Lions could not come back after being outscored 44-25 in the first half.
Savalace Townsend led the Lions with 24 points, hitting 9 of 18 field goal attempts. He also recorded four assists and three rebounds. Townsend played all 40 minutes against Auburn.
But UAPB as a team did not shoot as well as their leading scorer, making just 23 of 61 field goal attempts. Forwards Daniel Broughton, Lavoris Weathers and Mitchell Anderson combined to make just 8 of 30 shots from the field.
Kyle Jones (15 points) and Broughton (11) also reached double-digits in scoring. Broughton also pulled down 10 rebounds, giving him a double-double.
Jones connected on 5 of his 12 shots, all from behind the 3-point line. Anderson led the Lions with five assists.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
On the other end, the Tigers enjoyed a 52 percent field goal shooting clip against the Lions, making 26 of 50 shots.
Guard Chris Denson led Auburn with 17 points and made 3 of 4 attempts from long range.
Overall, the Tigers connected on 9 of 15 3-point shots. Auburn was able to overcome a 32-28 deficit in the rebounding department and recorded 10 blocks against the Lions.
The Lions held a 14-11 lead with 12 minutes and 28 seconds left in the first half. After the game was tied at 20 with 5:58 left in the half, the Tigers outscored the Lions 24-5 to close out the first half.
At one point in that spurt for Auburn, the Tigers connected on three 3-point baskets in the course of 35 seconds. Two of those shots were made possible with UAPB turnovers.
After that run, the Lions took a timeout. But coming out of the break offered the same result, as Auburn connected on two more 3-point shots to end the half, including a buzzer-beater from Kenny Gabriel.
Varez Ward assisted on five of the Tigers’ last seven field goals of the half and finished with seven assists.
The Lions cut the deficit to nine in the second half, but could not get any closer. A 3-point jumper from Jones brought the score to 51-42 in favor of Auburn with 14:07 left in the game.
But after a basket from Townsend with 7:10 left in the game, the Lions did not make another field goal attempt until there was 1:23 left on clock.
The loss is UAPB’s second to a BCS-conference opponent this year, as the Lions fell to Oklahoma State in their first game of the season 73-46. The Lions still have non-conference against Michigan, DePaul and Cincinnati before they begin the bulk of SWAC play.
UAPB faces a long break before its next game, a Dec. 10 trip to play Air Force. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. opening tip.