Box Score

PINE BLUFF, Ark.-The Golden Lions lost their second straight game Saturday night at H.O. Clemmons Arena, on a 84-65 decision to Texas Southern.
 
Powered by Omar Strong's big performance, the Tigers (10-15, 9-4 SWAC) went bucket for bucket with Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-21, 5-9 SWAC) before pulling away in the second half. The junior guard from Baltimore averages just over 11 points per game on the season, but exploded for 32 Saturday night.
 
Both teams came out firing in the first half, with Texas Southern holding an 11-9 lead with 16 minutes left before UAPB's Lazabian Jackson scored his ninth consecutive point to tie the game. Jackson scored 11 of the Golden Lions first 13 points.
 
Fred Sturdivant had a poster dunk for Texas Southern at the 8:40 mark, tying the game at 23. He missed the following free throw, but D'Angelo Scott tipped in the follow for the Tigers to take the lead. Sturdivant scored four straight points, followed by a Strong three-pointer, to take the lead 40-33 with about 2:30 left in the half.
 
Strong kept pace in the head-to-head battle with Jackson, scoring 11 points for Texas Southern in the first eight minutes of the game. Both players played well defensively and shot lights out, finishing the half with 19 points each. But Strong also knocked down a buzzer-beating three-point shot to give Texas Southern a 45-34 lead entering the locker room.
 
The pace slowed tremendously after halftime as Madarious Gibbs helped extend Texas Southern's lead to 50-35 a minute and a half into the second period. Strong hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the score to 63-42 with 12:10 remaining in the game, and the Tigers never looked back.
 
The Golden Lions' chemistry seemed thrown off by Jackson's surprise first-half performance. After shooting 48 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in the first half, UAPB's field-goal percentage dropped to 34 percent with a 1-of-10 showing from beyond the arc.
 
Jackson and Strong each continued to produce points for their respective teams, but the Tigers got more support from much of their roster when Strong's hot hand cooled, while Jackson, guard Savalace Townsend and forward Daniel Broughton were the only point producers for the Golden Lions until midway through the second half.
 
Townsend finished with 13 points and four assists, while Broughton only registered nine points due to foul trouble. Jackson finished with 21 points and five assists.
 
The Golden Lions play next at H.O. Clemmons Arena on Monday night at 7:30 pm against Prairie View A&M.