JACKSON, Miss. – The opportunity to pick up a key road sweep fell short as Jackson State jumped out to a big first half lead and held off several second-half charges by Prairie View A&M to claim a 65-60 victory on Monday night in the Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.

The Panthers were off to a solid start in the first half as junior post Josh Eleby took control of the paint with four quick points as the game began.  However, the much-shorter Jackson State team relied on its outside shooting to counter and swung the game in its favor as they jumped ahead 12-7.  Senior shooting guard Ryan Gesiakowki kept the Panthers in the game with back-to-back treys as they led 16-15 with 13:39 remaining.

Down 18-17 with 11:57 left in the half, the Panthers began to watch Jackson State slip away as their one-point deficit grew to 27-20 over the next two minutes.  A basket by Carl Blair drew the Panthers to within five points but Jackson State blew the game open over the final seven minutes as they outscored the Panthers 14-5 for a 41-27 halftime advantage.  One contributing factor to the Panthers' struggles in the first half was their inability to hold on to the ball as the team committed 11 turnovers along with being outrebounded 17-13.

Jourdan DeMuynck scored four consecutive points to open the second half as PV trimmed its deficit to 41-31 less than a minute in but the momentum swung back in Jackson State's favor as they upped their margin to 48-32 at the 17:12 mark.  However, the Panthers fought back over the next few minutes and cut their margin to single digits with a 7-0 surge that was capped off by Carl Blair's basket with 14:16 remaining.

From that point, the Panthers had numerous opportunities to narrow the gap even further but JSU pushed it back to a 12-point lead at 55-43 with 10:23 on the clock.  Back-to-back layups by Blair and Chapman drew the Panthers to within eight at the 9:02 mark but once again, JSU found ways to push its lead back to double digits.

With 4:29 left in the game, the Panthers closed to six points after two free throws by DeMuynck followed a 30-second timeout to set up its defense.  The timeout worked as junior post Jules Montgomery blocked a JSU shot on the ensuing possession but the Panthers missed a layup on the other end.  JSU misfired on a three-pointer on the next possession but PV committed a critical turnover with 3:05 to give JSU the ball back.

The Tigers made PV pay on its next trip down the court with a big layup for a 63-55 advantage with 2:34 remaining.  PV's Demondre Chapman answered with a layup to draw within 63-57 but JSU's Christian Williams answered with two free throws at the 2:01 mark.

With less than two minutes remaining, the Panthers wasted another opportunity to draw closer after missing two straight baskets and the front end of a 1-and-1.  JSU followed PV's script with a pair of misses but the Panthers once again struggled to put the ball in the basket after misfiring on a three-pointer. The Panthers would draw no closer as JSU split the season series for the second straight year.

DeMuynck led PV with 12 points and six rebounds followed by 11 points from Blair.  Christian Williams topped all JSU scorers with 17 points.

PV returns home after a two-week hiatus for a contest versus Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. in the William Nicks Building.