UAPB escapes scare and advances to SWAC semifinals with 77-73 victory

[Seminole Indian]

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - Just three nights after a 37-point destruction against the same opponent in the same gym, top seeded Arkansas-Pine Bluff survived a scare in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with a 77-73 victory over the eight seed Mississippi Valley in front of over 5,000 people at H.O. Clemmons Arena. With the win, UAPB advances to the semifinal round of the SWAC tournament and will face Southern University on Friday, March 9 in Houston, Texas, where the remainder of the SWAC tournament will be held. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Delmar Fieldhouse. The Jaguars recently eliminated Jackson State 62-60 in the quarterfinal round of the tourney. On January 13, UAPB defeated Southern 78-76 in overtime at H.O. Clemmons Arena and on February 10, Southern defeated UAPB 70-62 at the F.G. Clark Activity Center. For a complete list of SWAC tournament information, including address and ticket prices, click here.

UAPB (13-19, 13-6 SWAC) was led by a trio of scorers as SWAC Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and All-SWAC First-Team selection Martaveous McKnight and Quamauri Hardy both finished with 16 points apiece while SWAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SWAC Second-Team selection Trent Steen produced 14 points in the victory. McKnight dished out a game-high seven assists, had four rebounds, and missed just one free throw all night (5-of-6) while teammate Hardy had the hot hand early, buried a total of three 3-pointers and did not miss a free throw (3-of-3). Steen was big in the paint for the Golden Lions as he shot 6-for-9 from the field, blocked two shots, grabbed three boards, had two steals and didn't miss a free throw (2-for-2). Travon Harper chipped in with 11 points, three assists, three steals, two blocks and one rebound.

The Golden Lions led 39-33 at halftime and scored a total of 27 points off of 14 Mississippi Valley turnovers. UAPB was dominated on the glass by its opponent 41-28 but made up for it and shot nearly 48 percent from the field (27-of-57) while Valley managed 42 percent shooting (25-of-59). As a team the Golden Lions nailed seven 3-pointers in the first half but did not make a single one in the latter half. Ironically, the Devils shot 11-of-12 from the charity stripe in the first half but made only six free throws in the second half (6-of-10). Overall, Mississippi Valley shot 17-for-22 from the free throw line while UAPB hit 16-of-22 from the charity stripe.

Mississippi Valley (4-28, 4-15 SWAC) was led by Jordan Evans who finished with a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers. He did not miss a single free throw (4-for-4) while Dante Scott chipped in with 14 points of his own. Emmanuel Ejeh produced 12 points in the loss for Valley.

The Golden Lions produced a total of 26 bench points versus 23 for Mississippi Valley.

The victory marks the third time that UAPB defeated Mississippi Valley this season as it completed the season sweep. The margins of victory were nine, 37, and four.

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