Saturday’s game in Itta Bena, Miss., will be vital for two teams fighting from behind to get a spot in the upcoming SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will face Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. at the R.W. Harrison HPER Complex in what will be UAPB’s final road game of the regular season.
UAPB coach Solomon Bozeman said this is a must-win game for the Golden Lions.
“I think our guys are ready,” Bozeman said. “I think they’re prepared. We look forward to playing against a Mississippi Valley State team that came in here and beat us on our home floor. So, I think our guys are hungry to play against those guys.”
With three games left, a win against on Saturday would mean two things for UAPB (5-23, 2-13 SWAC).
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
First, it would provide revenge for losing 79-76 to MVSU (3-25, 1-14) in Pine Bluff exactly one month prior. Secondly, it would put the Golden Lions in a much better position entering the final week of the season.
UAPB is still chasing Prairie View A&M for the final tournament spot despite beating the Panthers last weekend. The Golden Lions are two games behind and thus need at least two wins in their final three games to have a shot at the postseason, assuming Prairie View does not win another game.
The Golden Lions beat Prairie View by scoring 54 points in the paint. UAPB’s top three scorers were forwards, and UAPB attempted a season-low six 3-pointers. Two days later, UAPB shot 6 of 23 from deep and scored 28 points in the paint in an 81-56 loss to Texas Southern.
Bozeman said getting to the rim is a game plan that has worked for UAPB.
“I think we got some bigs that can score it inside,” Bozeman said. “I think we got some guards that can drive and finish inside, so that’s been part of our game plan is to finish inside more and just take really good shots from the perimeter. I thought we settled against Texas Southern. That’s kind of when the game got away from us. … We just gotta be mindful and know the shots that we wanna get every possession.”
UAPB forward Klemen Vuga played a season-high 36 minutes against Prairie View, and forward Kyle Brown played a season-high 35 minutes. Neither had played more than 30 in a game, which Vuga did once, so Bozeman said fatigue may have been a factor against TSU.
The Delta Devils had unusual offensive success when they traveled to Pine Bluff. They scored 79 points, their most against a Division I opponent this season. Arthur Tate led MVSU with 20 points. He has scored 20 combined in six games since.
Other than a 70-point outing against Alabama A&M, MVSU hasn’t scored more than 56 points in a game since then and was held below 40 points twice.
Bozeman said UAPB must be more disciplined on defense this time.
“Thought we gave up too many layups against them,” Bozeman said. “We gave up I think 26, 28 points just layups. You can’t win any games giving up that many layups uncontested. We gotta be better on that defensive end, and I like the group that we’ve been starting, because they’re pretty good on that defensive end.”
UAPB is 4-0 this season when holding its opponent below 70 points but 1-23 when a team surpasses that number.