NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL GAME NOTES

EUGENE, Ore. – Prairie View A&M went down to the wire with the University of Oregon but came up short as the Ducks pulled away in the closing minutes to claim a 74-66 win in the second round of the Global Sports Hoops Showcase in Eugene, Ore.

The Panthers overcame an early 5-0 deficit in the first half and claimed their first lead of the night following a 10-0 run which put them ahead 10-7 with 13:45 remaining.  In a half which featured six ties and six lead changes between both teams, the Panthers led 30-29 at the 1:25 mark following a trey from forward Jules Montgomery.  However, the lead was brief as Oregon closed out the half on a 5-0 run which gave them a 34-30 halftime advantage.

PV's deficit grew to seven as Oregon's Devoe Joseph nailed a three-pointer to open the half.  Prairie View closed the gap to 39-35 following a Ryan Gesiakowski trey but Oregon answered with another trey from Joseph which put the Ducks up by seven (42-35).  Demondre Chapman's layup at the 15:45 mark drew the Panthers to within five points but Oregon managed to pull away by outscoring the Panthers 15-7 over the next five minutes en route to a 57-44 margin.

The Ducks continued to lead by double digits for nearly four minutes until a late rally began to turn the tide in PV's favor.

Down by 12 at 66-54 with 7:15 remaining, Montgomery kickstarted a PV rally with a jumper, steal and assist which led to a layup from Montrael Scott and a 66-58 deficit.  The Ducks turned the ball over once again and sophomore guard Louis Munks began to heat up with back-to-back treys which cut OU's lead to four at 68-64 with 4:46 left.  Unfortunately, the Panthers missed their next four shots from that point while Oregon went 6-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch to secure the win in the first meeting between both teams.

Chapman led PV in scoring for the third straight game with 12 points.  Jourdan DeMuynck followed with 10 points while Montgomery, Ronald Wright, Gesiakowski and Munks all finished with eight points.

The showcase and PV's non-conference slate concludes tomorrow evening as the Panthers battle North Carolina Central at 6:30 p.m. CST.  Second place will be on the line as both teams defeated Stephen F. Austin and fell to Oregon.