Senior Trant Simpson scored six of Prairie View's final seven points in the last 2:25 as the Panthers ended their three-game slide with a 69-61 home win over Alabama State on Saturday night.
Prairie View A&M stormed out to an 18-6 lead at the midway point of the first half before ASU fired back and cut its deficit to 20-15 via a 9-2 run at the 7:32 mark. Panther senior post Brandon Webb put an end to the run as he scored five points in a two-minute span which moved Prairie View up by nine at 28-19. Alabama State trimmed its deficit to seven points on several occasions after the spurt but Prairie View's Duwan Kornegay found his shooting touch late in the half with two huge three-pointers that put the Panthers on top 37-26 at the half.
The lead grew to as large as 14 at 40-26 early in the second stanza as junior guard Michael Griffin sliced the lane for a layup. ASU closed to within nine nearly a minute later on two free throws from Kenderek Washington but Prairie View managed to lead comfortably over the next several minutes as ASU would draw no closer than eight points.
Ahead by eight with 4:53 remaining, Prairie View's comfort zone was threatened as Alabama State fought back and made it a game as Kaylim Noel drained a trey to close within five at 58-53. Griffin responded with a layup to move PV back up by seven (60-53) but ASU hung around and closed the gap to 60-56 after another basket from Noel coupled with a free throw from Washington.
With 2:25 remaining, Trant Simpson nailed two free throws to move PV back up by six and a missed trey from Noel led to Brandon Webb being fouled at the 2:10 mark. Webb hit 1-of-2 to move PV up by seven and Simpson answered on the ensuing possession with a basket for a 65-59 advantage. ASU scored four straight points to draw within five with 1:15 remaining but Simpson nailed another basket with 43 ticks left to seal the win.
Tim Meadows led the way with 13 points and four rebounds while Brandon Webb and Simspon both added 11 apiece. Kornegay was the team's top rebounder with eight while Webb added five.
The Panthers return to action on Monday as they host Alabama A&M at 7:30 p.m. in Prairie View.
