A golden start to conference play has the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team on pace for its best regular season in over a decade, but the Golden Lions aren’t satisfied.
“This team, we haven’t done anything yet,” head coach Solomon Bozeman said. “This team is hungry, and I really believe this team wants it. We have a goal in hand, a task in hand that we want to complete. So, that’s how we keep this team hungry. Just focus on coming in every day, getting better, knowing that we haven’t completed our goal.”
UAPB will look to extend its five-game winning streak this weekend. The Golden Lions will face Alabama State at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome in Montgomery and Alabama A&M at 7 p.m. Monday at the AAMU Event Center in Huntsville. SWAC TV will stream both games.
UAPB (11-13, 8-3 SWAC) enters the week in second place in the SWAC standings. The Golden Lions have already tied the 2023-24 team’s eight conference wins, the most UAPB has collected under Bozeman. One more win would secure UAPB its best performance in SWAC play since going 10-8 under George Ivory in 2018-19.
The Golden Lions’ current win percentage has them on pace to finish 13-5, though they will be aiming for better. The best UAPB has done in SWAC play since rejoining the league in 1998 was a 15-3 performance in the 2012-13 campaign. UAPB finished 14-4 in the 2009-10 season which resulted in the school’s lone NCAA Tournament appearance.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
As each win brings more attention to UAPB one year after going 3-15 in SWAC play, senior forward Jaquan Scott said this year’s team has the senior leadership to not get distracted or complacent.
“We don’t have guys that get overwhelmed or too big-headed with wins,” Scott said.
“We kind of stay composed and just want more, you know? We have the bigger goal ahead of us, so we just trying to get there. Once we get there and win there, after we get our rings, then we’ll be satisfied. But as of right now, we’re trying to get to that goal.”
After last week’s games against Alcorn State and Jackson State, the Golden Lions have now faced every SWAC team this season.
The rest of the regular season will feature rematches, starting this weekend in Alabama.
UAPB defeated the Bulldogs 95-83 on Jan. 3 to open SWAC play two days before beating the Hornets 90-79. Both opponents will be looking for a different result on their respective home courts, though UAPB is 4-1 on the road in conference play.
UAPB is averaging 83.7 points per game at home, but that drops to 71 per game on the road, forcing the Golden Lions to lean more on defense away from Pine Bluff.
UAPB hasn’t scored more than 78 points in its SWAC road games, so repeating its 95- and 90-point performances against these foes seems unlikely.
Bozeman said playing good defense will be crucial.
“Any time you go on the road, it’s all about getting stops,” Bozeman said.
“Alabama State’s going to be a very tough environment. Their fans are always pretty good there, so any time you on the road, we always talk about getting stops. … We know how talented and good this team can be offensively, but at the end of the day, we always say, ‘Defense wins championships.'”
Alabama State (7-17, 4-7) entered the season as the reigning SWAC tournament champion but has struggled to repeat last year’s performance.
The Hornets enter the week tied with two others for ninth place, have lost four of their past five games and sit four games behind UAPB in the standings.
Senior guard Asjon Anderson leads the Hornets with 16.4 points per game. He scored 23 during Alabama State’s game in Pine Bluff. Redshirt freshman forward Jerquarius Stanback tallied six blocks in that game and is tied for the lead league with 1.9 blocks per SWAC contest.
Scott said the Golden Lions need to attack Stanback and be stronger at the rim.
“Shot fake and just get other people involved, because we know he’s going to come off and try to help hard,” Scott said.
“So, just get him in the air, make one more pass, and just go through his chest.”
The rematch with Alabama A&M (13-11, 6-5) looks to be one of the most important games remaining in the regular season for UAPB.
The Bulldogs are in a three-way tie for fourth and sit two games behind the Golden Lions.
A win for the Lions would put more distance between UAPB and Alabama A&M, but a Bulldog victory would cut the gap in half, take away UAPB’s tiebreaker, and put UAPB’s position in second place in more jeopardy down the stretch.
Senior guard Kintavious Dozier leads the Bulldogs with 15.4 points per game and scored 26 in Pine Bluff last month. Senior forward PJ Eason scored 16 points with 11 rebounds in that game.