GARLAND, Texas - The Prairie View A&M Panthers picked the perfect time of the year for a complete performance as Montrael Scott and Jules Montgomery posted double-doubles in leading the Panthers to a 67-59 win over Alcorn State in the first round of the 2013 SWAC Tournament at the Curtis Culwell Center. The Panthers moved past the first round for the first time since 2009 and only the third time since 2003.

Alcorn State claimed the season series over the Panthers and possessed a three-game winning streak which dated back to last year's SWAC Tournament opener. The Panthers had their work cut out for them from the opening tip with ASU holding the momentum in the series but came out relaxed as they stormed out to an early 22-13 margin following Ryan Gesiakowski's trey at the 7:36 mark.

The Alcorn State backcourt of LeAntwan Luckett, Devonte Hampton, Marquis Baker and Anthony Nieves willed the Braves back into the game from that point with an 11-2 run to knot the game at 24-all with 5:47 remaining. Gesiakowski nailed a big trey following Alcorn State's game-tying dunk to end the run and the Panthers upped their lead to 29-24 on Demondre Chapman's jumper.

Both teams got sloppy over the next few minutes as they combined for four turnovers. Alcorn State was the first to take advantage of the turnover bug and used a trey from Hampton to draw within two before tying the game for the fourth time in the half following two free throws from Luckett at the 2:51 mark. PV's Jules Montgomery made a big layup on the ensuing possession to break the tie and sparked a first half surge which saw the Panthers outscore ASU 6-0 for a 35-29 halftime advantage.

The lead grew to 39-30 slightly past the two-minute mark as senior point guard Carl Blair nailed a jumper. The Panthers claimed an eight-point margin twice over the next two minutes before Alcorn State charged back and drew to within four (40-36) on Baker's layup at the 15:06 mark. ASU struggled to find the basket over the next few minutes as the Panther defense played a big role. Offensively, PV moved back ahead by eight thanks to baskets from Chapman and Gesiakowski with 13:06 remaining. Once again, ASU tried to hang around as Ian Francis logegd a layup to cut its deficit to 46-40 but PV went on a well-needed and much-anticipated 8-2 run to claim a 54-42 margin with 7:02 left on the clock. PV led by double-digits over the next minute and a half before the Braves came charging back as Luckett, Hampton and Nieves combined to score eight points over the next two minutes to draw within 57-53 at the 4:25 mark.

Both teams struggled from the field over the next few minutes until Gesiakowski's layup for a 59-53 lead with 1:55 remaining. Luckett answered with a jumper on the following possession but the Panthers held on with a solid performance from the charity stripe as they went 8-of-10 over the final 1:25 to claim the win.

Five players scored in double figures for PV led by 14 from Blair and 13 each from Scott and Gesiakowski. Chapman came off the bench with a 10-point outing while Montgomery scored 11. Blair also dished out a team-high six assists while Montgomery recorded five of PV's eight shots.

The Panthers are back in the second round of the SWAC Tournament for the first time since 2009 as they're going to face Jackson State at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Ironically, JSU was PV's last opponent in the 2009 tourney as JSU claimed the semifinal win. Both teams split the season series as each squad defended their homecourt while JSU won the last tourney meeting between the teams during the 2011 tournament in Garland.

The game will be streamed online by the SWAC Digital Network (www.SWAC.org) in addition to KPVU 91.3 FM.