Sports

JACKSON STATE USES STRONG SECOND HALF TO DOWN UAPB

By Troy Schulte/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 10:09 AM CST

JACKSON, Miss. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff entered Monday’s game against Jackson State with a chance to claim sole possession of second place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and head to Saturday’s game at Alabama State with a chance to tie itself atop the conference.

Pine Bluff Commercial/Ralph Fitzgerald Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Tavaris Washington throws down a dunk during UAPB’s 67-62 win over Prairie View on Jan. 26 at H.O. Clemmons Arena. The Golden Lions lost at Jackson State 87-83 Monday.

And if it wasn’t for an almost five-minute stretch in the second half, it may have turned out that way.

It began with UAPB holding its largest lead of the second half at nine points and ended when UAPB coach George Ivory was whistled for a technical foul.

Two free throws by Garrison Johnson gave Jackson State its first lead of the second half and all but erased one of the best halves his team has played this season in an eventual 87-83 loss at the Activities and Assembly Center.

“I thought it was a game we should have won,” Ivory said. “We missed some shots and some key assignments, but it’s part of the game.”

Ivory knew, at some point, his team’s magic had to be running out.

Coming off three straight games where it had to make big plays in the final minutes to pull out wins, the Golden Lions couldn’t come up with a similar result on Monday.

Trailing by as many as six points in the final 10 minutes, the Golden Lions couldn’t come up with a key basket, manage to force a turnover or keep Jackson State off the free-throw line. The Tigers made 21 of 30 shots that way in the second half alone.

“We knew that if we keep playing the games close, eventually we’re going to lose,” Ivory said.

Even still, UAPB (7-13, 6-3) had its chances in the final minute. Trailing 82-79 with 55 seconds left, Tyree Glass missed a pair of free throws after Terrance Calvin stole an inbounds pass and Eric Brooks saved it from crossing the midcourt line.

With the same score, Glass then missed two more free throws with 44 seconds left.

The Tigers then made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 36 seconds to seal their seventh win in eight games.

“He’s real hurt right now,” said Tavaris Washington of Glass. “But we told him we win as a family and we lose as a family. He’ll be okay.”

Washington had been the player UAPB looked to in key situations. But on Monday, he watched the final 30 seconds from the UAPB bench after having fouled it. He racked up 15 points, four assists and five steals.

Glass, who finished with nine points and four rebounds, also fouled out, and three other players had at least three fouls. UAPB made 16 of 25 free throws to Jackson State’s 36-of-47, a discrepancy that Ivory and his team is going to have to learn to expect when it goes on the road.

“You don’t want to tell them that that made a difference,” Ivory said. “But I tell them that you have two teams playing the same style of defense — aggressive. And it being called one way makes it a little tough to deal with.”

Ivory’s frustrations spilled over with 10:19 left in the game when Gavin Montgomery was called for an offensive foul. The foul put Darrion Griffin on the free-throw line and Ivory’s extra words did the same for Garrison Johnson.

Johnson’s two free throws gave Jackson State a 59-57 lead, its first since the 12:23 mark of the first half, and Griffin’s made it 61-57. UAPB never regained the lead.

Calvin’s 26 points was one off his career high, and he also had three assists. Jackson State coach Tevester Anderson left his home court having been impressed by the junior from Clarksdale, Miss.

“He’s probably the best point guard in our conference,” Anderson said. “He knows how to get his team involved and then he is also a guy who knows when he needs to score.”

Johnson scored 23 points for Jackson State while Jeremy Caldwell had 20 and Griffin had 18. Grant Maxey had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff 68, Jackson State 63

The Lady Lions simply must feel uncomfortable playing with a big lead.

For the third straight game, UAPB let a double-digit lead slip away Monday. But like Saturday’s win at Grambling State, rather than last Monday’s loss to Prairie View A&M, the Lady Lions rallied themselves inside the Athletic and Assembly Center.

“As a coach that obviously drives me crazy,” said UAPB coach Danny Evans. “I don’t know if they relax, thinking they have a big lead and the can, but I’d like to be able to fix that.”

Shay Holmes, coming off a disappointing showing on Saturday, came off the bench for 16 points and seven rebounds, and Arica Green had 14. Tashayla Jackson added 12 points and Ciara Shields had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Lady Lions (7-13, 6-3) led by as much as 24-14 with just over six minutes remaining in the half. But Erlexis Cooper, the conference’s leading scorer, almost brought the Tigers (4-15, 1-8) back by herself.

She didn’t score until almost 16 minutes had run off the clock but finished the first half with nine. At one point in the second half, she scored 13 straight points. She finished with 25 total and nine rebounds.

Slaton’s layup with 2:52 left and four free throws by Green in the final 24.2 seconds helped seal the game for the Lady Lions.

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