A former SWAC player haunted the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team on Wednesday night.
The University of Louisiana Monroe pulled away in the final minutes to defeat UAPB 89-73 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe.
Jackson State transfer Coltie Young led ULM (4-7) with 28 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He made 7 of 13 attempts from 3-point range and went 3 for 3 at the free throw line. Last season as a Tiger, he scored 9 total points in two games against the Golden Lions.
The Warhawks shot 10 of 24 from 3-point range and finished 54.4 percent from the field. Senior guard Tyreese Watson scored 16 points with 11 assists, while senior forward AD Diedhiou scored 16 points on a perfect 8 of 8 shooting night.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
ULM’s victory came despite the Golden Lions holding the Warhawks’ leading scorer, junior guard Jalen Bolden, to 3 points.
UAPB (2-9) couldn’t match Saturday’s stellar 3-point shooting performance on the road. The Golden Lions made just 5 of 25 deep shots, though they shot 46.7 percent from the field.
Freshman guard Caleb Jones and junior guard Dante Sawyer tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points apiece. Junior forward Kyle Brown scored 12, and freshman guard Raphael Dumont finished with 11.
The Golden Lions led for 15:14 of the first half, leading by as much as 30-22, but the Warhawks made a late push to take a 39-37 lead into halftime.
The Warhawks extended their lead to 56-43 in the opening minutes of the second half, but UAPB went on a 16-2 run to retake the lead. The teams traded the lead two more times, but ULM took the lead for good with a 5-0 run.
UAPB had the deficit down to 75-71 with 3:53 to play, but the Warhawks pulled away with a 12-0 run.
ULM outrebounded UAPB 37-27. Although the Warhawks collected only one more offensive rebound than UAPB, they outscored the Golden Lions 19-5 on second-chance points.
UAPB won the battle in the paint 46-34 and outscored ULM 17-5 on the fast break, but it wasn’t enough.