BOX SCORE
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – It was a tale of two halves for the Prairie View A&M men's basketball team as they took on SEC member Texas A&M on Tuesday. After a rough first half, the Panthers turned the intensity up in the second stanza and closed to within seven points before the Aggies managed to pull away with a late run to claim a 75-65 win at Reed Arena.
The Panthers were leading the Aggies by a score of 11-9 early in the first half but went through a six-minute scoring drought shortly after the 15 minute mark. On the other end of the court, the Aggies found their groove and broke the game open with a 15-0 surge to jump ahead 24-11 with 8:59 remaining. Junior guard Montrael Scott ended the drought with a layup and the Panther defense stepped their game up as they forced two straight Aggie turnovers. After a solid defensive effort, the Panther offense got back on track as they put forth a 7-0 run to climb within 26-20 with 5:53 on the clock. However, the roles reversed over the next two-and-a-half minutes and the Aggies answered with a 13-0 run to push their lead to 33-20. Two free throws by Louis Munks at the 3:18 mark ended PV's drought but the Aggies remained comfortably ahead en route to a 40-26 halftime advantage.
It was all Texas A&M to open the second half as the lead grew to as much as 21 points with 11:56 remaining. From that point, the Panthers took on the role as the aggressor with an 18-2 run which saw them force five turnovers coupled with a solid effort on both sides of the court by post players Karim York and Jules Montgomery. Two free throws by A&M's Antwan Space extended its lead to 58-51 with 5:48 left but the Panthers remained within striking distance on John Brisco's jumper for the 58-53 deficit.
Texas A&M outscored the Panthers 11-3 over the next four minutes to claim a 67-56 margin but the Panthers continued to fight as York nailed a trey to draw within 69-62 with 52 seconds left. The Panthers were forced to foul from that point to conserve clock and A&M took advantage as they made all of its free throw attempts en route to sealing the win.
Scott had another solid game with 20 points and four rebounds followed by 10 points from Brisco. Montgomery finished with seven points and a team-high six rebounds while York chipped in with nine points.
The Panthers return to action on Monday, Nov. 25 as they'll face Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colo. at 7 p.m.
