JACKSON, MS – In a hard-fought matchup, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team fell short on the road against Jackson State with a final score of 87-79 on Thursday night at the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center.
Shawn Williams led the Golden Lions with 32 points going 8-of-15 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range with three steals.
Dequan Morris followed with 16 points, eight rebounds, and three steals, and Kylen Milton finished with 12 points.
In the last matchup against Jackson State at H.O. Clemmons Arena, the Golden Lions faced a Tiger team in a hostile Greek night environment. Now, the tables have turned, and the Golden Lions would face the same setting on the road with hopes to get redemption over JSU.
Jackson State jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the opening minutes before Williams made a dish into the post to AJ Stredic for a power layup to begin tallying positive moves for the Golden Lions.
With one assist under his belt already, Williams committed to taking the game over, yet again. Williams began to build up his confidence with a quick sidestep three-pointer to get his engine fired up early. Getting back on defense, Williams would then force a Jackson State turnover to get the steal and go coast-to-coast, finishing at the rim to come within one point of JSU, 9-8 early.
The Golden Lions did an excellent job remaining patient with the basketball and running their sets efficiently to get the looks they wanted. With the ball at the free-throw line, Stredic’s timing put the ball in Morris’ hand at the right time for an alley-oop jam to generate vital energy for UAPB.
Stredic did a fantastic job of playing his role for the Golden Lions to make winning plays, giving himself a point-forward status in the first half. Catching the ball at the free-throw line again, where he makes most of his plays, K’Shun Stokes sprinted to the left corner, and with excellent court vision, Stredic zipped the ball to Stokes, who would knock down the long two causing Stredic to backpedal with lots of energy.
Jackson State recognized early on that Williams would be the guy to knock down tough shots for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which caused them to smother Williams when the ball was in the Golden Lion’s possession. However, the Tigers were unaware of how Brandon Brown could also knock down shots.
Being left wide open, Brown received a pass from Travonta Doolittle to pull from behind the arch with a nothing-but-net result. After seeing the first three-pointer go in, Stredic would be unselfish with the ball and kicked it out to Brown on the wing to sink his second-consecutive three-pointer.
From a Jackson State missed free throw, Brown grabbed the rebound to slowly bring the ball up the court before being pressured by the JSU defense. Sizing his defender up with a between-the-legs dribble, he saw Williams curl to the right-wing with his hands ready to shoot. Swinging the ball to the right side to Williams, Williams would knock down the perimeter jumper to expand their lead over the Tigers.
However, the Golden Lions wanted to close out the first half in style. With active, hands-on defense and keeping his eye on the ball, Morris came up with a steal for a breakaway two-handed dunk to end the first half over Jackson State, 41-38.
Things became close in the second half, causing the Golden Lions to go back-and-forth with the Tigers, but the Golden Lions would settle under pressure, knocking down shots outside the perimeter.
Williams continued to shoot lights out with hopes to set a new career high. Williams’ isolation play was no match for Jackson State, causing a double team to add pressure on Williams, which he would consume. Rising over two defenders, the ball would fall through the net, adding another three to the board for Williams.
Jackson State would then score eight straight points to run off with the lead.
With time winding down, Milton penetrated to the rim to take flight and put a Jackson State defender in the rim, but it wasn’t too late in the game.
The Golden Lions will return to the hardwood to close out the regular season in a matchup against Alcorn State in doubleheader action. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
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