MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama State jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead and held its ground in the second half as Prairie View A&M's three-game winning streak came to an end during a 20-7 loss at the Cramton Bowl on Saturday afternoon.

For the second straight game, Prairie View A&M committed a costly fumble on its opening drive which gave ASU the ball at the PV 14. Two plays later, ASU moved ahead 7-0 as quarterback Greg Jenkins scored on a 10-yard keeper.

The Panthers had no trouble moving the ball in the first half but kept running into road blocks as three potential scoring drives stalled. Prairie View missed two field goal attempts and had a fourth-down play stopped at the ASU 1 immediately as the second quarter began.

In a half dictated by field possession, ASU gained control of the ball at the 8:56 mark of the second quarter after a punt and moved ahead by two possessions as Jenkins found wide receiver Nick Andrews for a 34-yard touchdown pass. The Panther defense made a key stop on Jenkins as the half came to an end but ASU still managed to squeeze out points on the drive as Bobby Wenzig nailed a 39-yard field goal with no time remaining for a 17-0 halftime lead.

Prairie View opened the second half with a bang as freshman quarterback Deauntre Smiley led the team on an 11-play, 73-yard scoring drive which culminated with an 11-yard run from Jermaine Waddy. Down 17-7 with the defense making another stop, the Panthers continued to move the ball downfield but once again, ran into a road block as their fourth-down fake field goal attempt fell short.

In a story which kept repeating itself as the game progressed, the Panthers couldn't find the endzone the remainder of the way as they missed another field goal coupled with two interceptions.

For the game, the Panthers amassed 456 total offensive yards (255 P, 201 R) while ASU netted 296 yards. Freshman Fred Anderson finished with 101 yards rushing while Smiley threw for 165 yards on 15-of-29 passing. Junior wideout Deandre Cooper led the passing attack as he caught seven passes for 66 yards. Defensively, linebacker Marcus White led PV with 9.5 tackles and two tackles for loss followed by nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss from senior defensive end Adrian Hamilton.

Prairie View A&M will have next weekend off before returning to action versus Jackson State in the second annual Shreveport Classic on Saturday, Oct. 29. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La. For more information, log on to www.ShreveportClassic.com.

In addition, Panthers fans can get a full recap of Saturday's contest from the perspective of head coach Heishma Northern tomorrow evening as his radio show airs at 7 p.m. on Houston's KNTH 1070 AM.