The Panthers took on Arkansas Pine-Bluff Saturday evening at the William “Billy” J. Nicks field house. In front of almost 3,000 spectators, the Panthers went down in defeat, 75-68.
Throughout the season, the men’s play has been strong and continues to get better each game. In the first half, the Panthers scored 34 to Pine Bluff’s 36, and were two of seven from the three point line, while Pine Bluff went four of eight.
Going into the second half, the Panthers continued to play hard, but got ousted by Pine Bluff. The Panthers matched their first half point total, while Pine-Bluff pushed theirs up to 39. The Panthers fought hard, but went zero for seven from behind the arc, and shot under 50 percent from the field. “Their intensity was higher, their play was better, but we just didn’t play up to our full potential,” said sophomore shooting guard Freddie Edo after the loss.
The Panthers received big plays from Aaron Smith with 16 points, Brian Ezeh with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Ahmed Khalfan with 11 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.
On Monday, the Panthers played Mississippi Valley State. With Saturday’s loss still on their minds, the Panthers channeled that aggression into the game. The first half was a back and forth battle between the two teams, but the play in the second half would determine the winner. At the half, Valley had a two point lead, 34-32. At the start of the second half, the Panthers buckled down and held the Delta Devils to 19 points to their 23. As the game came down to the last seconds, the Panthers put another win in their column with the 55-53 win. After the win, junior forward Jacoie Shivers said, “We were hungry for the win, we played with intensity and enthusiasm, everybody on the team refused to lose.” Contributing to the win were Brian Ezeh with 17 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists, and a block. Aaron Smith chipped in nine points, Jacolby Satterwhite with eight, and Freddie Edo with seven.
The Panthers will now travel to Alabama for a two-game road trip. The Panthers play Alabama A&M in Huntsville, Ala., Feb. 2, and Alabama State in Montgomery, Ala., Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m.