STILLWATER, Okla.- The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff men's basketball team kicked off their season on Tuesday at the 2011 Preseason NIT Tip-Off. UAPB dropped two matches falling to Oklahoma State in the opening round 73-46 and later losing to Oral Roberts 80-44.
 
"I thought we started off pretty good against OSU, said UAPB head coach George Ivory. “We kind of hit a drought at the end of the second half. We gave them a couple runs that were like 8-0 and 12-0. You can't do that against a real good basketball team."
 
Arkansas-Pine Bluff raced out of the gates taking a 10-2 lead early in the contest. Oklahoma State's depth proved to be a big difference in the outcome of the game. 
 
"Their bench played great,” stated Ivory. “When you have a real good basketball team like they have, and good talent, you have to guard everybody. We put more effort into guarding the starters than we did guarding the guys coming off the bench, which we told them, when we're playing a team like this, all of them can play."
 
Arkansas-Pine Bluff will look to rebound on Monday, November 21^st as they get set to face Isaiah Thomas and the Florida International Golden Panthers at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m.