A four-year absence from the SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament ends Thursday for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
The Golden Lions will face Southern University in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. CDT at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta on ESPN-Plus.
No. 6-seed UAPB (13-18, 10-8 SWAC) last played in the tournament in 2021, and this will be the Golden Lions’ first time as a top-six seed since earning the No. 5 spot in 2019.
UAPB last won a tournament game in 2018, reaching the championship game.
This is UAPB’s first tournament appearance under Coach Solomon Bozeman.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
No. 3-seed Southern (15-16, 11-7) was the top seed last season but lost in the quarterfinals to rival Grambling State.
The Jaguars are seeking their first tournament win since 2020, when they beat Alabama State 67-53 before the remainder of the tournament was canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Golden Lions and Jaguars met once in the regular season, a 75-74 UAPB road win on Jan. 24.
UAPB guards Quion Williams and Trevon Payton combined for 45 points that day, with Williams also leading his team with seven rebounds.
The game featured six ties and 10 lead changes. Williams provided the final lead change on a tiebreaking jumper with 2:34 remaining.
Southern kept the deficit within one possession and made two free throws with 49 seconds remaining to cut it to 1.
UAPB turned the ball over with 19 seconds left to give the Jaguars a shot, but the potential game-winning three-pointer missed as time expired.
Senior guard Michael Jacobs leads Southern with 17.6 points per game. He scored 15 with 11 assists against UAPB.
Graduate forward Malek Abdelgowad scored 16 points with 12 rebounds in the game, but Abdelgowad hasn’t played since Feb. 21, missing Southern’s past four games.
UAPB is coming off its most lopsided victory against a SWAC opponent this season.
The Golden Lions dominated Alcorn State 83-48 on March 5 on the road after having entered the game losing five of its previous six games.
That losing skid saw UAPB drop from second place into a tie for fourth.
The win at Alcorn kept UAPB in a top-six position, giving the Golden Lions the double bye to the quarterfinals.
Despite the late skid, the SWAC season was still UAPB’s best since going 10-8 in 2019 and the best under Bozeman.
Southern enters the tournament on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Alabama State and Alabama A&M on the road to close out the regular season. The winner will advance to the semifinals at 7:30 Friday. The championship game is scheduled for 6:30 Saturday.