Prairie View A&M closed out the first half of SWAC play in style as four players scored in double figures in a 65-46 win over Alabama A&M on Monday night in the William Nicks Building.

For the second straight game, junior post Josh Eleby set the tone early as he dominated the paint with seven early points as PV began the game on an 11-2 run within the first five minutes.  Alabama A&M was forced to make a few subs following PV's run and went to a bigger lineup which stymied the Panthers over the next few minutes.  The Bulldogs attacked the paint on several occasions and came up successful as they drew several fouls which led to them shooting 6-of-8 from the charity stripe as they cut PV's lead to 17-14 at the 8:07 mark.

With the Bulldogs charging back into the contest, Eleby tipped-in a missed basket to up PV's lead to 19-14 with 6:50 left.  Alabama A&M missed two straight jumpers after the basket which led to a trey from PV's Ryan Gesiakowski and a 22-14 lead 1:10 later.  Alabama A&M's Demarquelle Tabb hit 1-of-2 free throws on the ensuing possession to draw them within seven but the Panthers closed the half out strong with a 9-4 surge en route to a 31-19 halftime advantage.

The Panthers broke the game open in the second stanza thanks to its inside game as their lead grew to 50-30 with 10 minutes left after Jules Montgomery's layup.  However, in similar fashion to Saturday's thriller versus Alabama State, the Panthers let off the gas pedal and allowed Alabama A&M to creep back in as they outscored them 14-5 over the next five and a half minutes.  During that span, the Panthers only shot 1-of-5 from the field while also struggling to hold on to the ball with four turnovers.

With the lead down to 11 at 57-44 with 4:32 remaining, the Panthers regained their comfortable margin as they continued to attack the basket.  Montgomery got the ball rolling again after nailing two straight baskets followed by a big-time dunk from Chapman over the next two minutes as PV led by 17 with 2:47 remaining. 

The Panthers were primed to close out the game in style and turn their focus towards round two of conference play but things changed in an instant as the game came to a screeching halt with 1:11 remaining following a hard foul to senior guard Jourdan DeMuynck on a layup attempt.  DeMuynck had to be removed from the game as a result and play eventually resumed with a different tone several minutes later as PV won its second straight over Alabama A&M and upped its winning streak to two games.

Eleby led the Panthers with 17 points and six rebounds while Montgomery dominated the Bulldogs with his inside-outside game as he finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.  DeMuynck scored 15 points for the Panthers followed by 12 points from Chapman and seven assists from Carl Blair.

Round two of SWAC play begins on Saturday night as the Panthers head to Houston to face Texas Southern at 8 p.m. in the H&PE Arena on the campus of TSU.