Golden Lions scrap, claw their way to 51-48 win over Grambling

Birmingham, Ala – In a do-or-die game determining who would advance to the semifinals of the 2007 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament, the Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine-Bluff defeated Grambling State 51-48 on Wednesday at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena.
The UAPB victory came with freshman guard Terrance Calvin leading the way with 16-points, two assists, two steals and three rebounds. And fellow freshman William Byrd’s contribution of 12 defensive rebounds.
“If my team plays well I’m concerned,” said UAPB head coach Van Holt. “For some reason we cannot win games pretty, so when we play as rugged as we did today, we have a better chance of winning the ball game.”
Although Pine-Bluff (12-18) held a 10-point advantage at the half, they were outscored 27-20 largely because of GSU’s Anthony Williams’ 12-point outburst.
Along with Williams’s 20 total points, the Tigers (12-14) two leading scorers were point guard Andre’ Ratliff and Kendric Baker. Both had 11-points.
“Grambling is a pretty good ball club,” Holt said. “They have two All-Conference players in Williams and Ratliff, and no one else in the SWAC has two All-Conference players on their roster. So give them some credit.”
In the upset victory, the No. 6 seed Golden Lions set the tone early in the first half by shooting 76.9 percent from the free throw line and out-rebounding the No. 3 seed Tigers 18-17.
Pine-Bluff’s strong performance, sparked by first-team All-SWAC selection William Byrd’s seven rebounds (all defensive) and guard Terrance Calvin’s 10 points, proved to be the difference in the game.
The Tigers were led by Ratliff who contributed 8 points and three rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting from field goal range and 2-of-2 behind the ark.
During the regular season UAPB and Grambling split their two game series with the Tigers edging the Golden Lions 74-68 at Grambling and Pine-Bluff registered a 72-68 win over GSU at home.
With their victory, UAPB lives to fight another day and will face Jackson State in the tournament’s semifinals on Friday. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.
“Jackson State presents an offensive burden with a balanced ball club, but we will be up to the challenge,” Holt said.