PINE BLUFF, Ark. - Prairie View A&M suffered another last-minute heartbreaker on the campus of Arkansas-Pine Bluff as the Golden Lions escaped with a 55-52 win on Monday night in the H.O. Clemmons Arena.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff stormed out to an early 9-2 lead less than three minutes in as the Panthers committed four turnovers during that span while the Golden Lions missed only one shot. A Ronald Wright jumper closed the gap to 9-4 17 seconds later but UAPB upped its lead back to seven (11-4) following Terrell Kennedy's layup with 15:27 remaining.

The scoring would cease for nearly three minutes and not pick up until the 13-minute mark as PV closed its deficit on Carl Blair's trey coupled with a Josh Eleby alley-oop dunk from Blair for a 11-9 margin. UAPB answered PV's charge and went on a 7-0 run to lead 18-9 but PV hung tough and closed to within 22-20 at the 5:33 mark via an 11-2 run of its own. The Golden Lions would lead by as much as five in the final 4:21 but PV rallied and drew to within 26-24 at halftime.

A 7-0 run by the Golden Lions greeted the Panthers to begin the second half as PV trailed 33-24 less than two minutes in. However, Prairie View A&M regained its composure and drew to within 33-32 two minutes later with an 8-0 run which featured baskets from Blair, Ryan Gesiakowski and Demondre Chapman. Two untimely Panther turnovers killed the run and allowed UAPB to increase the lead to 36-32 but PV hung in there and drew to within one point (37-36) once again as Chapman scored off an Gesiakowski assist with 13:47 left on the clock.

Neither team could find the basket for the next two minutes until Gesiakowski, who entered SWAC play mired in a bad shooting slump, nailed a huge three-pointer at the 11:10 mark for PV's first lead of the night at 39-37. UAPB continued to misfire at the basket while PV countered as Jourdan DeMuynck scored the next four points for the Panthers to increase the lead to 43-37 at the 8:03 mark.

Holding a six-point lead, UAPB ended its drought with a layup from Davon Haynes and drew to within 43-41 as a Panther turnover led to two free throws from UAPB's Tevin Hammond. Missed free throws and three-pointers doomed the Panthers from that point as UAPB regained a 44-43 lead on Hammond's trey followed by a dunk from Haynes with 5:23 left on the clock.

A three-pointer from DeMuynck helped PV regain a 47-46 lead with 4:53 left and the Panthers were in position to create some separation after picking up a turnover on the ensuing possession. However, the Panthers immediately turned the ball over on the next offensive possession which led to a foul and a made free throw from UAPB to knot the contest at 47-all.

The Golden Lions regained a 48-47 lead on 1-of-2 free throws from Haynes at the 3:42 mark. UAPB rebounded the missed free throw and misfired its layup attempt but the Panthers squandered a major opportunity with a huge turnover after claiming the rebound. UAPB's Lazabian Jackson missed the trey after the turnover but Haynes was in the right place at the right time as his putback upped UAPB's margin to 50-47 as the clock read 2:52.

With 2:40 left, Gesiakowski nailed 1-of-2 free throws to draw PV within 50-48 but another offensive rebound from Haynes 11 seconds later led to a 52-48 lead by UAPB. PV missed a layup on its next possession and dodged a bullet as the Golden Lions missed two baskets before committing a turnover which led to 1-of-2 free throws from Rasi Jenkins.

Down 52-49, the Panthers committed yet another turnover with 58 seconds left which led to PV fouling and a 54-49 lead by the Golden Lions.

A layup from Chapman cut UAPB's deficit to 54-51 with 41 seconds left and late turnover by the Golden Lions gave the Panthers prime opportunity to tie the game. Unfortunately, the Panthers misfired on consecutive three-point attempts during that span which turned out to be their final shots as UAPB hit a free throw late for a two-possession lead.

DeMuynck led PV with 15 points, four assists, three steals and 10 rebounds. Gesiakowski scored 12 points with five rebounds while Blair dished out seven assists along with nine points and five boards. Chapman also had a solid game statistically with eight points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers return home this weekend as they'll host Alabama State at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Baby Dome.