Senior guard Martaveous McKnight scored 22 points as the Golden Lions blew past Southern 61-45 during a Southwestern Athletic Conference showdown in front of a crowd of nearly 2,500 Saturday at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.
 

Sophomore forward Shaun Doss tossed in 16 points for UAPB (10-15, 7-5), which has responded to a recent three-game losing streak by winning three in a row to move within a game of Alabama State for third place in the conference.
 

Senior forward Sidney Umude had 16 points and five rebounds for Southern (4-20, 3-9), which picked up a controversial 69-67, overtime victory over UAPB on Jan. 19 but couldn't keep up in the rematch.
 

UAPB took the lead for good with 9:05 remaining in the first half after a McKnight free throw put the Golden Lions up 14-13. UAPB led 22-17 at halftime and 31-28 early in the second half until McKnight's jumper with 13:40 left in the game keyed a 10-2 run that gave the Golden Lions a 41-30 cushion.  The Jaguars would close within five on a pair of occasions over the next eight minutes, the latter coming with 5:44 to go.  A bucket from senior center Alex Ennis trimmed UAPB's lead to 43-38, but a three-pointer from senior guard Charles Jackson 27 seconds later ended the Jaguars' threat and paved the way to another Golden Lions' victory.
 

The Golden Lions will try to make it four in a row Monday when they entertain Alcorn State in a nationally televised showdown, with the "blackout theme".  So we encourage all Golden Lions fans to wear black.  Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and will be showed on ESPNU, followed by the women's game at 8:30 p.m.

FAST BREAK

• UAPB has lost just once this season at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
• McKnight, the SWAC's leading scorer, is averaging 20.3 points per game and Doss is averaging 17.3 during the Golden Lions' current three-game winning streak.
• The Golden Lions also had a three-game winning streak to start the conference portion of their schedule.
• Doss also led the team in rebounds with six and added two steals.
• Freshman guard Anthony Davis and junior center Isaac Bassey gave UAPB a spark off the bench with six points apiece.
• Each team pulled down 23 rebounds.
• Southern has lost 5 of its last 6 games and sit in next to last place in the league