ATLANTA, Ga.- After trailing by only 8 points at 35-27 going into the second it looked as if the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions basketball team may have a legitimate shot of pulling an upset of major significance as they played #22 ranked Georgia Tech.
The Golden Lions played Georgia Tech tough throughout the duration of the contest as they held the Yellow Jackets scoreless during a five minute stretch midway through the second half. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was able to get their deficit down to six points at 46-40 before Georgia Tech pulled ahead 48-40.
UAPB fell behind by a 59-46 margin with six minutes left in regulation. A Vincent Martin three pointer had put Arkansas-Pine Bluff ahead 10-9 early in the first half which would subsequently be the Golden Lions only lead during the contest. Lebaron Weathers and Tavaris Washington led Arkansas-Pine Bluff in scoring with 13 points each.
"I think playing teams of the caliber of Georgia Tech helps us a lot," said UAPB coach George Ivory. "When you can come in and compete against some of the teams that we've played our players should learn from the experience. I tell our team that every time you play against a great basketball player, you learn, and even some of the moves they make on you, you should go back and try to work on that to help your game. I think it is going to help us a lot down the road."
Arkansas-Pine Bluff will face Missouri on Saturday, Dec. 19th in Columbia, Mo. Tip-off time has been set for 7:00 pm.