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Arkansas-Pine Bluff coach calls timeout to make team run sprints during loss to No. 19 Iowa State

Solomon Bozeman wasn’t going to wait until they got back home — or even until after the game.

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff head coach was so upset on Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum that he actually made his players run sprints in the middle of the game.

While it didn’t work — the Golden Lions fell to No. 19 Iowa State 83-64 in Ames for their eighth loss in nine games on the season — Bozeman’s move was certainly an unusual one for college basketball, to say the least.

Bozeman called the sprints timeout just minutes into the second half, after they fell down into a 20 point hole. The Golden Lions went nearly five minutes without scoring shortly after that break, which propelled Iowa State to its largest lead of the night before taking the 19-point win.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff did put up 42 points in the second half, only three less than the Cyclones did, so perhaps the sprints made an impact after all.

Bozeman is in his first season at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, replacing longtime coach Greg Ivory. The program has had just one winning season in its 25-year history, back in 2010 when it made the NCAA tournament as a No. 16 seed.

Based on its rough start to the year, and with battles against No. 4 Baylor and No. 7 Texas ahead later this month, it’s going to be a big uphill battle for Bozeman to pull that feat off this season.