GAME BOX SCORE
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A one-point halftime lead by Prairie View A&M failed to hold up as Alabama A&M broke open a tight game with a second-half surge to claim a 63-58 victory over the Panthers on Monday at Elmore Gymnasium.
Monday's game marked the return of Prairie View's Trant Simpson to his old stomping grounds as the senior spent three years as a member of the Bulldogs. With the game full of emotions, the remainder of PV's team fed off the energy as they claimed an early 18-13 lead at the 12:05 mark behind junior Michael Griffin and senior Duwan Kornegay.
Prairie View A&M held serve and protected its lead over the next four minutes as they led by as much as six (24-18) following Cortney Bell's dunk. The Bulldogs drew to within one at 24-23 on Casey Cantey's trey with 6:44 remaining but PV fought back and upped its margin to five at 30-25 on Griffin's three-pointer nearly two-and-a-half minutes later. Prairie View's scoring ceased with 1:32 remaining as AAMU's Jabari Deshields connected on a layup with 11 seconds left that trimmed the Panthers' lead to 34-33 at the half.
The Panthers began the second stanza in front for nearly five minutes until a basket by Cantey gave AAMU a 39-38 advantage. Bell's second dunk of the night reclaimed the lead for the Panthers with 13:24 remaining but that would be the only highlight Prairie View A&M would have as AAMU turned the tables over the next four minutes.
Alabama A&M went on a 12-3 run which turned into a 52-43 lead at the 9:14 mark. PV closed to within six at 52-46 on Simpson's trey but AAMU went back up by nine (55-46) as the clock read 6:55. The Bulldogs led by nine on several occasions over the next two minutes but PV had enough fight left in them as they closed to 60-56 via Simpson's hot hand from beyond the arc.
While PV's defense played well enough to shift the game as AAMU only scored one point over a span of 1:55, the Panthers couldn't match them offensively with only two points in the final 2:12.
Simpson and Griffin both led PV with 17 points while Kornegay had a strong game with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Despite a two-game losing streak, Prairie View remains in contention for a SWAC Tournament berth entering its final two regular season games which begins on Thursday, March 3. The Panthers will have an important showdown with Alcorn State on Thursday beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the William Nicks Building.
