ITTA BENA, Miss. – Senior guard Martaveous McKnight poured in 28 points and snagged eight rebounds as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff used a dominating performance in the second half to overwhelm Mississippi Valley State 91-57 on Saturday at the Harrison HPER Complex in the final game of the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season.

Sophomore forward Terrance Banyard had 14 points while junior forward Marquell Carter and sophomore center Artavious McDyess each had 10 points for UAPB (12-19, 10-8), which ended the season in a three-way tie for third place with Grambling State and Jackson State.  All three teams will play in next week's conference tournament.

UAPB will be the No. 5 seed and play at Grambling State on Tuesday night.

Senior forward Dante Scott scored 21 points for Mississippi Valley State (6-26, 4-14).

The Golden Lions held a 41-36 lead at halftime but used a barrage of points in the second half to blow the game open. UAPB was up 47-39 with 16:39 to play but were up 21 points (71-50) by the 7:22 mark. The Golden Lions steadily increased that lead throughout the remainder of the game and weren't seriously threatened.

UAPB shot 54.7 percent (35 of 64) for the game and held Mississippi Valley State to just 21 of 62 (33.9 percent).  The Golden Lions also knocked down eight three-pointers as opposed to three for the Delta Devils.


 

FAST BREAK

· McKnight had eight rebounds and four assists to go along with his 28 points.

· UAPB dominated inside, outscoring Mississippi Valley State 40-10 on points in the paint.

· The Golden Lions scored 18 points of 15 turnovers, and their reserves scored 29 points.

· Seniors Jordan Evans and Gregory Jones-Rollins both had 10 points for the Delta Devils.

· UAPB alternated wins and losses in the past four games.

· The Delta Devils closed the year with losses in four of their last five games.

 

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