Last week’s winter storm meant fans had to wait a little longer to see the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff open its home SWAC schedule, but game day finally arrives Monday.
The UAPB basketball teams will host Prairie View A&M for a doubleheader at H.O. Clemmons Arena, starting with the women’s game at 3 p.m.
UAPB was supposed to host Texas Southern on Saturday, but that doubleheader was postponed to Feb. 4, making this the first SWAC home game of the year. That postponement was the first for the men but second for the women, who were originally scheduled to host Prairie View on Thursday.
The UAPB men (3-12, 0-2 SWAC) are looking to get back on track after losing their opening SWAC games on the road last weekend at Alabama A&M and Alabama State.
Junior guard Doctor Bradley enters this game as the reigning SWAC player of the week and newcomer of the week after scoring a combined 65 points with 15 rebounds, seven assists andfive steals in the two games, his first two as a Golden Lion.
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Bradley, who last played Division I basketball with New Mexico State in the 2022-23 season, joined UAPB for the start of the spring semester, making this his first opportunity to play at home.
Freshman guard Caleb Jones will be another Golden Lion to watch. He scored 16 points against Alabama A&M and 15 against Alabama State after making a combined 9 of 15 attempts from 3-point range. His only better performance this season came against Central Arkansas, when he scored 20 points.
Prairie View A&M (3-13, 2-1) is coming off a 74-65 road win at Mississippi Valley State on Saturday. The Panthers beat reigning SWAC champion Grambling State at home last weekend before losing to Southern.
The SWAC’s scoring leader, junior Nick Anderson, is a Panther, but he hasn’t played since Dec. 22. Prairie View still has the SWAC’s third-leading scorer, point guard Tanahj Pettway, who scored 22 points with seven rebounds against MVSU.
Sophomore forward Marcel Bryant and Pine Bluff native Jordan Tillmon are the Panthers’ next leading scorers after Pettway, and both delivered 18 points against the Delta Devils. Bryant shot 3 of 4 from 3-point range and collected seven rebounds. Tillmon, a Watson Chapel graduate, did most of his damage in the first half, leading the Panthers with 16 at halftime.
The Lady Lions (2-10, 0-2) have now gone over a week since their last game due to the weather postponements. They are also looking to bounce back from a pair of losses, and they will have a chance to do so against the only other SWAC women’s team without a conference win.
Prairie View (3-9, 0-3) lost 69-52 at Mississippi Valley after the Devilettes opened on a 13-0 run and led the rest of the game. MVSU held Prairie View’s leading scorer, Crystal Schultz, to 8 points, though CJ Wilson stepped up with 14 points and six rebounds.
These two teams are the lowest scoring teams in SWAC play so far. UAPB averages 49 points per game to Prairie View’s 48. UAPB has a slight edge defensively, which could prove big for the Lady Lions.