After opening the season with a tough road loss, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team will look to bounce back in Wednesday’s home opener.
UAPB will host Champion Christian College at 7 p.m. at H.O. Clemmons Arena in what will be the Golden Lions’ only November home game.
UAPB (0-1) is coming off Monday’s 109-54 loss at No. 20 Cincinnati but should have a good chance to get back on track against a non-NCAA opponent.
Champion Christian also lost on the road Monday, 111-61, at Louisiana-Monroe. The Tigers are treating the ULM and UAPB games as exhibitions, while the games count for the Warhawks and Golden Lions.
Wednesday’s game will be the first opportunity for fans in Pine Bluff to see the Golden Lions’ new lineup at home. Forward Robert Lewis and guard Zach Reinhart, who both started at Cincinnati, join guard Trejon Ware, who didn’t play Monday, as the few returners from last season.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The other starters Monday were guard Christian Moore, forward Quentin Bolton Jr. and forward Kyle Brown. Moore, a Jacksonville native, transferred from North Texas, while Bolton transferred from Charleston Southern. Brown came from the junior college ranks.
Junior college transfer guard Dante Sawyer led the Golden Lions in scoring with 11 points off the bench, followed by true freshman guard Caleb Jones with 9. Moore led the starters with 7 points and three assists. Reinhart led the team in rebounds with seven.
Champion Christian’s leading scorer at ULM was junior guard Christian Blair with 10 points. Senior guard KJ Younge followed with 7 points, four assists and three rebounds.
White Hall graduate Zavion Jackson, a senior forward, scored 3 points with three rebounds against the Warhawks.
This will be the third-straight season that UAPB’s home opener is against the Tigers. The Golden Lions won 116-73 last season and 87-55 the year prior.