Seeking a bout of home cooking, the Prairie View A&M Panthers returned to the friendly confines of the Baby Dome on Sunday looking for their first SWAC win of the year.  Unfortunately, the Panthers couldn't put together two solid halves as TSU captured a 65-60 win in the William Nicks Building.

The Panthers and Tigers jockeyed for position to begin the game as there were six lead changes within the first six minutes of the contest.  Down 8-7, Prairie View A&M senior guard Jourdan DeMuynck hit a jumper and began a Panther surge which saw them turn a one-point deficit into an 18-10 advantage at the 9:20 mark.  TSU closed to within six points on several occasions from that point but the Panthers responded and claimed their first double-digit lead at 24-14 following DeMuynck's layup with 6:07 left.

Prairie View A&M's lead grew to as much as 12 points over the next minute as Carl Blair netted a layup.  However, TSU sharpshooter Omar Strong willed his team back into the game as he hit back-to-back treys to cut its deficit to 28-22 with 3:57 remaining in the first stanza.  Junior post Demondre Chapman answered with a layup on the following possession but Strong was fouled on the next play and hit three free throws to cut its deficit to 30-25.

Chapman and sophomore guard Montrael Scott combined to score the next six points for the Panthers to up their lead to 36-25.  TSU's Fred Sturdivant dunked home a basket on the following possession and began a closing 9-0 run which saw TSU draw within two points as they trailed 36-34 at the half.

The run extended over into the second stanza as TSU scored the first five points of the half to reclaim a 39-36 advantage.  Prairie View woke back up as Josh Eleby nailed a jumper followed by Carl Blair's layup for a 40-39 PV margin nearly three minutes in.  From that point, it was a see-saw affair as neither team led by more than three points over a seven-minute span. 

With PV ahead 51-50, the scoring ceased for more than two minutes until TSU's Ray Penn nailed a three-pointer for a 53-51 TSU advantage at the 7:08 mark.  The Panthers closed to within 53-52 after 1-of-2 free throws from Ryan Gesiakowski with 4:41 left but Penn nailed a trey on the next possession to extend TSU's lead to 54-51.  After a PV turnover, TSU answered with a layup from Aaron Clayborn for a six-point lead and TSU never looked back as they held off a late PV charge over the final 3:25 to win their fifth contest in six tries over the Panthers.

Chapman had a monster game with 18 points and eight rebounds while DeMuynck followed with 13 points and seven boards.  Blair dished out four assists with 11 points and five rebounds while Rasi Jenkins pulled down five boards.  Omar Strong led TSU with 19 points followed by 16 from Clayborn and 13 from Penn.

The Panthers will have a break from this point as their next contest isn't scheduled until Saturday, Jan. 12 as they'll host Grambling State at 5 p.m. in the Baby Dome.