Golden Hurricane Hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Saturday Hoops

Saturday, November 9

2 p.m.

Tulsa

Arkansas - Pine Bluff

Golden Hurricane Hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Saturday Hoops

11/8/2024 8:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes ESPN+

GAME #2: Tulsa (1-0, 0-0 AAC) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-1, 0-0 SWAC)
Date/Time:	Saturday • November 9, 2024 • 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	Domald W. Reynolds Center (8,355) • Tulsa, Okla.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Eric Konkol (Wisconsin-Eau Claire, '00), 3rd Season Arkansas-Pine Bluff – Solomon Bozeman (Little Rock '11), 3rd Season
TV:	ESPN+ \| Josh Haley (PxP) and Pooh Williamson (Analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM / Varsity Sports App (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	3rd Meeting \| Tulsa leads 2-0
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| The American (PDF)

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa men's basketball continues its homestand to open the season with a game against the SWAC's Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday afternoon in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and will air on ESPN+ with Josh Haley and former star Tulsa point guard Pooh Williamson on the call. Fans can also catch the contest on Big Country 99.5 FM and the Varsity Network app. Bruce Howard and JR Rollo will call the action.

Saturday marks just the third meeting between the Golden Hurricane and Golden Lions, with Tulsa winning the previous matchups, both in the Reynolds Center. TU dispatched UAPB 72-39 in December of 2019, and 97-45 in the first meeting in 1999.

The Hurricane tipped off its season with a comfortable 82-68 win over Northeastern State earlier in the week. Graduate senior Keaston Willis made his healthy return to the lineup after a day shy of 11 months since his last game in a TU uniform. Willis knocked down his first three 3-point attempts, hitting four total in the first half and five for the game, getting Tulsa off to a hot start. He finished with 17 points to lead five Tulsa scorers in double figures. Junior Isaiah Barnes added 14, Dwon Odom came off the bench to score 12, and Tyshawn Archie and Braeden Carrington each added 10.

True freshman Ian Smikle made his mark on the game, joining Carrington as the joint-team leader with seven rebounds. Sophomore Tyler Behrend and freshman Jaye Nash each scored their first points as Golden Hurricane in the win.

UAPB is also coming into Saturday's game off a win. The Golden Lions took down Champion Christian College 99-57 in their home opener to get back to .500. Two days earlier, Arkansas-Pine Bluff opened the season with a 109-54 loss at Cincinnati.

Three Lions are averaging double figures in scoring after two games. Klemen Vuga (14.0) is shooting above 50 percent from the floor, leading the team in both categories, while Christian Moore (13.5) and Quentin Bolton (10.0) are the other two to reach the 10+ points mark. Robert Lewis leads the team on the glass, pulling down 8.0 rebounds per contest.

This is the second game in a row a former member of the Oral Roberts basketball team will face the Golden Hurricane. Third year head coach Solomon Bozeman spent three years as an assistant coach at ORU prior to joining UAPB.

After Saturday's game, the Golden Hurricane will close the three-game homestand to start the season with the annual Mayor's Cup against crosstown rivals ORU on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.