PINE BLUFF, AR – The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s basketball team lost their first conference matchup to Alabama A&M with a final score of 70-50 on Monday night at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
Travonta Doolittle led Arkansas-Pine Bluff with 15 points shooting 75 percent from the field and 60 percent from the arch. Doolittle also added two assists.
Kylen Milton followed with 11 points, knocking down 80 percent of his free throws, and added five rebounds.
K’Shun Stokes finished with ten points, shooting 50 percent from the field, going two-for-three from the perimeter. Stokes also added two boards and three assists.
Starting their smallest starting five this season, the Golden Lions went with all guards to begin action against Alabama A&M, forcing the UAPB guards to play big on the defensive end, only allowing four Alabama A&M points the first five minutes of gameplay.
Vital for the need of points on the scoreboard, Doolittle would make his way into the ballgame for the Golden Lions and demonstrated patience well, allowing his game to come to him. Doolittle pulled the trigger from the right corner from his hotspot, resulting in nothing but net. Later, Shawn Williams penetrated to the basket, pulling in the defense, and would find Doolittle wide open on the wing for a penetrate kick-and-dish three-pointer.
It seemed as if Doolittle left his touch on every big scoring play for the Golden Lions, with a chest pass to Dequan Morris in the paint for a short jumper and to Williams for a three-pointer at the top of the key.
Only trailing by six at the start of the second half, the Golden Lions had a mindset to knock down a couple of shots in two possessions to cutaway the Alabama A&M lead.
A Doolittle baseline layup would get the second-half momentum going for the Golden Lions followed by a Milton three-pointer, but three straight scoring possessions would allow Alabama A&M to gain a momentum advantage over UAPB.
“Whoever we have on the floor has to be ready to play and ready to fight for the whole 40 minutes,” said UAPB head coach Solomon Bozeman about the loss to Alabama A&M.
The Golden Lions will take a day to regroup before returning to action on Wednesday against Alabama State at home. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
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