PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Senior guard Martaveous McKnight scored 20 of his team-high 30 points in the first half as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff fought off a second-rally from Texas Southern to pull out a pivotal 90-86, Southwestern Athletic Conference victory in front of a crowd of nearly 2,500 on Saturday night at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.
 

McKnight was 11 of 20 from the field, including a 6-of-10 effort from beyond the three-point line. He also notched six assists and three steals for UAPB (7-12, 4-2). The Mississippi native was coming off back-to-back 29-point performances in road losses to Southern and Alcorn State, but the Lions were able to fend off the Tigers in a rematch of last season's league title game.
 

Junior forward Marquell Carter had 13 points and five rebounds and sophomore forward Terrance Banyard had 10 points and six rebounds for UAPB, which held on after leading by as many as 25 points after halftime. The Golden Lions led 43-29 at the break, then outscored the Tigers 19-8 over the first six minutes of the second half to open up a 62-37 cushion.
 

But Texas Southern quickly fought back. A lay-up from senior forward Jeremy Combs started flurry for the Tigers, who scored 37 points in an 11-minute span. A short jumper from senior guard Jalyn Patterson got the Tigers within 77-74 with 3:49 left in the game. UAPB eventually pushed its lead back to six points, 82-76, on a McKnight 14-footer with 2:11 to go, but Texas Southern scored 12 of the game's next 18 points and got a basket from junior guard Tyrik Armstrong at the eight-second mark to cut its deficit to 88-86.
 

UAPB, though, was able to put the game out of reach when senior guard Charles Jackson knocked down a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining.
 

Combs finished with 30 points and nine rebounds for Texas Southern (8-11, 3-3), which has gone 3-3 in its past six games since beating Texas A&M 88-73 on Dec. 26. Senior forward Devocio Butler had 20 points while Patterson added 11 points. 
 

UAPB will host Prairie View A&M on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Retro Nights (70's Style) before embarking on a four-game road trip, starting with Grambling State on Feb. 2.
 

FAST BREAK

• UAPB won both regular-season meetings over Texas Southern last year before losing in the SWAC championship game a year ago.
• McKnight is averaging 25.5 points per game in conference play.
• The Golden Lions have won seven games in a row at home dating back to last season.
• Jackson had eight points and a game-high eight assists for UAPB.
• Three different players (McKnight, Banyard and sophomore guard Shaun Doss) had six rebounds for the
• Golden Lions.
• UAPB assisted on 22 of its 33 field goals. Texas Southern had just 8 assists on its 28 made shots.
• The Golden Lions led for nearly 33 of the game's 40 minutes.
• Texas Southern owns victories over Power 5 foes Baylor, Oregon and Texas Southern but have struggled since league play began.
• The Tigers attempted 14 more free throws, had 8 more points in the paint and had 3 less turnovers than UAPB, but was outrebounded 38-31 and hit six less three-pointers.

                                                                    #OURTownOURTeam