Arkansas-Pine Bluff overcomes late poor free throw shooting, beats MVSU 69-66 in SWAC tourney

Arkansas-Pine Bluff beats MVSU 69-66 in SWAC

BOSSIER CITY, La. — Allen Smith scored 16 points and Arkansas-Pine Bluff overcame poor free throw shooting down the stretch to beat Mississippi Valley State 69-66 on Wednesday in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

The second-seeded Golden Lions (15-15) advance to Friday’s semifinals to face the winner of Alabama State-Alabama A&M.

D’Angelo Jackson came off the bench to score a game-high 24 points for seventh-seeded Mississippi Valley State (9-23).

The Golden Lions broke open a tie game with a 17-6 run early in the second half, but the Delta Devils closed to within two points, 68-66, on a pair of free throws by Kevin Burwell. Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Lebaron Weathers added a free throw with 6 seconds left to push the lead to three before Burwell missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The victory completed a season-series sweep for the Golden Lions.