TSU and Prairie View A&M have gone down to the wire in 27 of the past 43 meetings dating back to 1997 and Saturday's game lived up to the hype.
After a first half which saw seven lead changes and a 26-24 TSU halftime lead, the Panthers set the tempo to open the second half as they went on a 6-0 run to claim a 40-34 lead. The team's six-point margin held until the 10:56 mark as TSU tried to chip away at lead over the next few minutes but the Panthers held ground with timely baskets.
The game would begin to heat up around the six-minute mark as TSU went on a 7-2 run to claim its first lead (51-49) since the 18:37 mark with 4:05 remaining. Junior post Karim York responded after TSU's surge with a layup to tie the contest at 51-all and the Panthers played inspired defense over the next few minutes to remain tied over the next three minutes.
With 1:23 left and the ball back into TSU's hands following an offensive rebound, senior post Reggis Onwukamuche swatted Chris Thomas' layup attempt which led to a solid playcall that resulted in York's trey at the top of the key off a Tre Hagood assist with 56 seconds remaining in regulation.
TSU's Tonnie Collier missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and they were forced to foul from that point in order to stop clock. They were whistled for their seventh foul with 39 seconds remaining and Hagood hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for a two-possession lead at 55-51.
The Tigers crept to within 55-53 after Thomas' offensive rebound and putback with 28 seconds left. PVAM senior guard John Brisco was fouled immediately on the team's next offensive possession and hit 1-of-2 for a 56-53 Panther lead at the 23-second mark. Offensive rebounding would keep TSU within a stone's throw as Nick Shepherd was fouled after an offensive bound with 14 seconds left and hit 1-of-2 to draw the Tigers within two at 56-54.
After Shepherd's missed free throw, the ball ended up back into the hands of TSU's Madarious Gibbs but his three-pointer fell short. However, PVAMU failed to secure possession of the rebound and Onwukamuche fouled out as he was whistled for a loose ball foul with six seconds left on the inbounds pass.
With a shot to tie, TSU's Chris Thomas missed both free throw attempts while PVAMU senior guard Montrael Scott answered with two free throws to ice the game and the team's first win in the arena since 2010.
Scott led the Panthers with 16 points and came within one rebound short of a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds. Hagood added 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists while Onwukamuche continued his solid play in the post with 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
Hagood is also credited with shutting down TSU senior point guard Madarious Gibbs as Gibbs' seven-game streak of double-digit scoring came to a halt as he only scored four points.
The Panthers are back in action next Saturday in Jackson, Miss. as they'll face Jackson State.
COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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