BOX SCORE
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A promising start turned into a nightmare ending for the Prairie View A&M Panthers as Alabama A&M rallied back from a 20-point deficit to claim a 64-54 win on Monday night in Elmore Gymnasium.
Known for having an arena where the fans are on top of the action, the Panthers did a solid job in eliminating AAMU's sixth man early on as they turned a 2-2 tie into an 11-4 lead nearly eight minutes into the contest. Alabama A&M cut its deficit to five but the Panthers went into overdrive from that point with a 19-4 run that spanned six minutes for a 32-12 lead.
Holding a 20-point lead, the Panthers began to settle into a comfort zone of sorts as the Bulldogs began to chip away at the lead towards the end of the half. Alabama A&M put forth an 11-4 run over a two-minute span to climb back into the game and turned a 20-point deficit into an 11-point deficit with 11 seconds remaining. However, the Panthers received a well-timed and much-needed basket as the half came to an end following Jourdan DeMuynck's tip-in with no time remaining.
Alabama A&M came out on fire to begin the second stanza as they went on a 25-point surge within the first 10 minutes. The Bulldogs claimed their first lead since the early stages of the first half on Jeremy Crutcher's basket off a steal at the 10:41 mark and led by as much as eight with 7:17 on the scoreboard.
From that point, the Panthers were forced into a game of catch-up as every possession became important. A trey by Ryan Gesiakowski brought the Panthers to within five (55-50) with 6:30 left but unlike the first half, in which points came with ease, the Panthers could never find an offensive rhythm as they only scored four of the team's 16 second-half points over the final six minutes.
“This was one of the toughest losses I've ever experienced,” said head coach Byron Rimm II. “We got too relaxed after taking the first-half lead. When you're on the road and have someone down, you keep fighting to keep them from coming back. That didn't happen in the second half tonight.”
DeMuynck led the Panthers with 14 points while Demondre Chapman grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. The Panthers return home this weekend for a match-up against SWAC rival Texas Southern on Saturday evening in the Baby Dome. Tip-off is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
