Carl Blair and Josh Eleby led Prairie View A&M to its first SWAC win of the 2012-13 campaign as the duo combined for 30 points in the Panthers' 60-44 victory over Grambling State on Saturday evening.

Trailing 7-6 with 15:34 left in the first quarter, Panther head coach Byron Rimm II turned to his bench and inserted Eleby as the Panthers were seeking a physical presence in the paint. A junior from Houston, Eleby responded to the call and took over as he keyed a 16-2 run with eight points during the run with an assortment of inside moves and dunks.

With PV ahead 22-9, Grambling State cut its deficit to eight points with 7:53 left but the Panthers held firm and reclaimed a double-digit lead for the remainder of the first half despite a scoreless drought over the final two minutes. Despite the drought, things looked pretty good for the Panthers at that point as they led 31-20 at the half.

Eleby and sophomore guard Montrael Scott scored PV's first four points of the second stanza as they led by 13 points at the 17:16 mark. Grambling State, which is winless on the season, refused to back down though as PV's comfortable 13-point advantage began to chip away over the next four minutes as the Tigers went on a 9-2 run to creep back within six following Bryant Purvis' trey.

Sensing the momentum shift, Blair picked up the role Eleby played in the first half as he nailed a much-needed three-pointer at the top of the key with 11:05 remaining for a 40-31 Panther advantage. One minute later, Blair struck again with a layup for a double-digit lead but a trey by Purvis combined with a scoreless drought by the Panthers over the next three minutes saw their lead reduced to 44-36 at the 7:16 mark.

Once again, Blair took command of the game and moved the Panthers into the winner's column by scoring 13 of the team's 16 points down the stretch. Defensively, the Panthers finally began to impose their will over the Tigers as they held them to only eight points over the final 7:16.

Blair led PV with 18 points, an assist and three rebounds in 30 minutes of action on Saturday. Eleby had 12 points and seven rebounds while Jourdan DeMuynck followed with nine points. Bryant Purvis led Grambling State with 20 points along with a nine-assist performance from David Copeland.

The Panthers return to action on Monday as they'll host Jackson State at 8 p.m. in the Baby Dome. The game will also be nationally televised by ESPNU as fans are encouraged to wear gold.