The first halftime lead of the men’s basketball season slipped away in the second half for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Thursday.
Marshall defeated UAPB 98-70 at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va.
UAPB (0-7) led 37-35 at halftime, its first halftime lead this season. It was the most points the Golden Lions have scored in a first half and the fewest points allowed in any half this season.
Marshall (4-1) dominated the second half, shooting 68.8 percent from the field, 9 of 15 from 3-point range and 10 of 10 at the free throw line.
UAPB senior forward Jaquan Scott led the Golden Lions with 23 points and seven rebounds. Quion Williams added 17 points and six rebounds. Milhan Charles finished with 12 points, and Alex Mirhosseini scored 11.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Marshall junior guard Caleb Hollenbeck led the Thundering Herd with 23 points, while Jalen Speer finished with 18 points and 11 assists.
UAPB started the game on a 7-0 run, but Marshall used 3-point shooting to get its offense going and take a 13-11 lead.
The teams traded the lead briefly until Scott led a 6-0 run to put UAPB in front 22-18. The Golden Lions led the rest of the first half, at one point by as much as 37-28. The Herd used a 7-0 run over the final 2:38 to close the gap, but UAPB nonetheless led at halftime after shooting 41.7 percent in first half.
That Marshall run to end the first half continued after the break, ultimately finishing as a 23-3 rally over 7:04 of game time.
Scott ended the run when he drew a foul with 15:22 remaining. Marshall center Matt Van Komen seemed to walk up and stand over Scott, who had landed on the court in a seated position after attacking the basket.
After review, the officials assessed Van Komen with a technical foul in addition to the original foul, which was on teammate Drew Fuquay. Scott made all four free throws, then Mirhosseini added a 3-pointer to cut Marshall’s lead to 51-47.
That was as close as UAPB got in the second half. An 8-0 Marshall run allowed the Herd to put the game away as it continued to shoot well the rest of the half.
Marshall outscored UAPB 36-32 in the paint despite UAPB’s 20-12 advantage in that category at halftime. The Golden Lions shot 4 of 18 from 3-point range.