TIGERS BOW OUT IN FIRST ROUND OF SWAC TOURNAMENT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Arkansas-Pine Bluff jumped out to an early lead and held off an aggressive fight by the Grambling State Tigers to eliminate GSU 51-48 from the SWAC Tournament on Thursday afternoon in the BJCC Arena. GSU could not get in sync offensively early as UAPB cruised to a double digit lead midway through the first half. The Golden Lions remained on top as GSU would get no closer than 10 points en route to a 31-21 halftime advantage. The Tigers scored the first four points of the second half and closed to within four points at the 17:55 mark after two free throws by Anthony Williams. However, UAPB battled back and increased its margin to 38-27 after a 7-0 run but the Tigers fought back and reduced its deficit to only two (38-36) at the midway point of the half. Grambling State could never get over the hump as every time they drew close to UAPB, the Golden Lions found a way to increase its margin over the next several minutes but with the season slipping away, GSU finally found a solution to make it a game late in the half. Down 45-43 at the 3:22 mark, Jamal Breaux connected on two free throws to tie the game at 45-45 but UAPBs Jason Frierson answered with a jumper several seconds later to put UAPB back on top. After a GSU turnover, UAPB had a shot to create some additional cushion from the Tigers but a missed basket by Tim Hamilton led to an Anthony Williams jumper which tied the game once again at 47-47 with 2:01 remaining. GSU had two chances to take the lead with slightly more than a minute left in the game but two attempts by Williams and Andrew Prestley came up short which led to a UAPB timeout as 36 ticks remained on the scoreboard. After the timeout, UAPBs George Davis hit a shot to move them back ahead by two and GSU misfired on the ensuing possession which forced the Tigers to foul in order to save time on the clock. The Tigers received new life after Terrance Calvin missed the front end of a one-and-one and with 11 seconds, the chance to tie the game became available as Williams was fouled. Williams only nailed 1-of-2 baskets and with GSU forced to foul, UAPB made two free throws to create a three-point cushion. With overtime as their only option, Andre Ratliffs potential tying three-pointer was partially blocked and GSU failed to get off another shot as UAPB advanced to round two. Williams led GSU with 20 points while Terrence Calvin scored 14 for UAPB.