GRAMBLING, La. – Jourdan DeMuynck made a triumphant return to the Prairie View A&M lineup as he and Jules Montgomery scored 21 points apiece as the Panthers defeated Grambling State 63-53 on Saturday evening in the Fred C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

DeMuynck, the team's leading scorer, missed last weekend's game at Texas Southern due to an injury suffered at the end of Prairie View A&M's contest versus Alabama A&M on Jan. 28.  The 6-6 guard was sorely missed last weekend but returned in full force as he finished one rebound short of a double-double.

“I'm ecstatic on how we did as we just need to work on our chemistry,” said head coach Byron Rimm II.  “We played hard but I wished we would've stayed focused over the last two to three minutes when we thought we had the game won.”

The Panthers were cruising to begin the game with an 11-2 lead less than four minutes in as DeMuynck, Ryan Gesiakowski and Montgomery hit early baskets.  With PV on top 13-5 with 16:14 remaining, Grambling State fought back and made it a game as freshman Terry Rose nailed two treys to fuel a 7-0 run which spanned four minutes.

Despite Grambling State's will to hang around, the Panthers never lost their lead as they responded with a 9-2 run of its own to lead 22-15 at the 5:37 mark.  Grambling State continued to chip away as they went on a 7-2 surge to draw within 24-22 with 2:09 remaining but the duo of DeMuynck and Montgomery came up big before the half came to an end as both hit a pair of baskets for a 28-22 halftime lead. 

The Panthers broke out the gates to begin the second half as DeMuynck and Montgomery combined to score the first 18 points of the second stanza for the team.  During their two-man show, the Panthers led by as much as 17 on two occasions.  Grambling State continued to hang around and took advantage of a few missed shots by the Panthers to cut its deficit to 46-37 with 6:52 left.

Baskets by Montrael Scott, Gesiakowski and Montgomery upped PV's lead to 52-40 three minutes later but Grambling State closed to within eight (59-51) after Bryant Purvis' trey with 1:54 remaining.   However, that would be the closest Grambling State would get as Prairie View A&M went 4-of-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch to secure the win.

DeMuynck scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists while Montgomery pulled down five boards with 21 points, three blocks and four steals.  Gesiakowski added 10 points and four rebounds while Carl Blair grabbed six rebounds with six assists.

The road trip ends on Monday night as the team travels to Jackson State for a 7:30 p.m. showdown.

“Jackson is doing a really good job and it's going to be a tough game as traditionally it has come down to the final minutes,” said Rimm.  “We need to keep an eye on their leading scorer and if we do that, we'll be successful.”