A shift in the schedule left the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team with little time to dwell on a disappointing week away from home.
UAPB will quickly return to action at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Texas Southern at H.O. Clemmons Arena before hosting Prairie View A&M at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
UAPB Coach Solomon Bozeman said playing Thursday and Saturday after having just played on Monday will help prepare UAPB (11-15, 8-5 SWAC) for the back-to-back nature of next month’s SWAC tournament.
“I try to look at everything in a positive way, and the more games we can play back-to-back like this, I think it’s going to only help us,” Bozeman said. “We got guys right now getting an opportunity to play that hadn’t really played that much. … I think it’s a positive that it’s going to help those guys be prepared more often when their time comes.”
Bozeman mentioned redshirt junior guard Anthony Sellars, senior forward Kyle Brown and graduate guard Ahmad Johnson as players coming off the bench who are getting extra minutes to help keep the starters rested.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
As the regular season nears its end, the SWAC men’s schedule is moving away from the typical Saturday and Monday format. Teams will play on Thursdays and Saturdays the next two weeks before finishing the regular season by playing on the first Tuesday and Thursday of March.
This change gives teams time after their final regular season game to rest and prepare for the SWAC tournament, which will start earlier than in past seasons. Play will begin on March 9, a Monday, and last through March 14 at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta.
This shift also gives UAPB a quick turnaround after seeing its previous five-game winning streak snapped with a pair of road losses to Alabama State and Alabama A&M, two teams UAPB beat during the opening week of conference play.
Redshirt junior guard Trevon Payton said those losses showed the Golden Lions what it is like when a team they had beaten once gets another shot at them.
“Obviously, we feel like we should win every game,” Payton said. “Those games really showed us we have to come with it every time we step on the court. So, definitely a wake-up call for us.”
The Golden Lions were outscored by a combined 94-67 in the second halves of those games. UAPB turned the ball over 22 times against Alabama State and gave Alabama A&M 32 free throws. Both opponents shot a higher percentage from the floor.
UAPB began last week alone in second place but now sits in a four-way tie for that spot with AAMU, Southern and Jackson State.
Texas Southern (9-15, 7-6) enters Thursday’s game one game back of second. The Tigers have won three of their past four games, including last week’s home wins against Southern and Grambling State.
Senior forward Troy Hupstead is the Tigers’ leading scorer with 14.7 points per conference game but also leads the SWAC in rebounds with 9.9 per game. He scored 16 points with 14 rebounds against UAPB when the teams met on Jan. 10, a 74-66 UAPB win in Houston.
Prairie View A&M (10-16, 5-8) is tied for 10th in the league but is coming off a 68-63 win against Grambling which ended a three-game losing streak. The Panthers will travel to last-place Mississippi Valley State on Thursday before facing UAPB on Saturday.
The Panthers have struggled this season but defeated UAPB 73-61 at home on Jan. 12 despite not having graduate guard Tai’Reon Joseph, one of the SWAC’s top scorers this season. Joseph did not play in Prairie View’s last game, the win against Grambling, after playing in the six games prior.
Bozeman said a player such as Joseph being in and out of the lineup makes it harder to scout a team.
“He had a whole segment on the scouting report just about him, because he was a big part of their offense,” Bozeman said. “So then, you gotta prepare for other guys to step up. … You just gotta be prepared for whoever at this point. You just never know who’s going to be in, or who’s going to be out. That’s where that discipline factor comes in.”
Senior guard Dontae Horne has stepped up for the Panthers. He is now the SWAC’s second-leading scorer in conference games with 23.8 points per game. Horne scored 18 against UAPB, with forward Cory Wells leading his team that day with 21 points and 10 rebounds.