MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The Prairie View A&M Panthers built a nine-point lead midway through the second half and then held off an Alabama State comeback attempt Monday to claim a 67-65 win over the Hornets.
In front of boisterous crowd announced at 2,456 spectators, John Brisco scored 20 points, none bigger than the two he made on free throws with 19 seconds remaining to help the Panthers build a 3-point lead. Alabama State's Jamel Waters missed two out of three free throws with a chance to tie the game with 7.1 seconds left.
Tre Hagood scored 13 points and record six assists and five steals for the Panthers (13-16), who improved to 11-5 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. Karim York added 12 points and nine rebounds.
The win was the Panthers' seventh consecutive triumph, eclipsing their six-game winning streak from the 2008-09 season, their best in the past decade. Prairie View A&M's current winning streak is their longest since a run of 12 consecutive wins all the way back in the 1972-73 season.
After Waters missed two out of three free throws in the final seconds, the Hornets got one more chance to tie the game after Prairie View A&M came up empty-handed on a one-and-one foul line trip. The Hornets again gave the ball to Waters, who drove in for a game-tying layup, only to be blocked by Reggis Onwukamuche to seal the win for the Panthers.
Onwukamuche finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds. He also blocked four shots in the contest, including the one that preserved the win. Four of those points came on a pair of monster dunks that only briefly quieted the enthusiastic, heckling Alabama State crowd.
With the exception of the Southern and Alcorn State, who make their treks to Texas this week, the Panthers have now beaten other opponent in the SWAC. Prairie View A&M has beaten the top two teams in the conference on the road this season – Texas Southern (17-12, 14-2 SWAC) and Alabama State (16-9, 12-4 SWAC).
Steve Rogers came off the Alabama State bench to score a game-high 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Rogers' output replaced that of DeMarcus Robinson, who scored 26 points – including the game-winner as time expired – in Alabama State's win in Prairie View one month ago.
The Panthers led by as many as nine points in the second half, only to see Alabama State chip away at the advantage in the late stages of the game. Prairie View A&M took the upper hand with a 17-5 run between the 16:56 and 10:36 marks of the second half to build a 50-41 lead.
Even with the Hornets getting the score back to a one-possession advantage several times, the Panthers had an answer. Brisco stifled a 5-0 State run with a midrange jumper that stretched the visitors' lead to 63-59 with 2:47 remaining in the game.
Hagood hit his biggest shot of the game with 41 seconds remaining when he knocked down a runner in the lane to put Prairie View A&M ahead 65-61.
The Panthers' starters played 167 of the 200 individual minutes in the game.
Zach Hamilton scored six points for the Panthers, while Montrael Scott added four points and four assists.
The Panthers return to action Thursday when they host Southern University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Prairie View A&M's final home doubleheader of the season will be Saturday when Alcorn State visits William J. Nicks Arena.
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COURTESY PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier University of Louisiana climbed three places to 18th Tuesday in the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
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