BOX SCORE
GRAMBLING, La. – In what will go down as another barnburner, Prairie View A&M withstood a raucous crowd and a double-digit second-half deficit to claim an important 83-82 road win over Grambling State on Monday night inside the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
Prairie View A&M would only lead once in the first half as they were awarded a pair of technical foul free throws before the contest. From then, it was all Grambling State in the first half as they shot 7-of-13 from the three-point line while building a trio of seven-point leads throughout the half. The Panthers would fight back from two of those deficits but GSU closed the half on a 12-1 run en route to a 41-31 halftime advantage.
A Grambling State trey by A'Torri Shine with 17:20 remaining in the second half upped its lead to 49-35. Grambling State, which hasn't won a SWAC contest in 23 tries entering Monday's game, had everything going for them from the crowd to the hot hand by several of its shooters.
With their backs against the walls, head coach Byron Rimm II fired his team up with a spirited pep talk and the team responded as John Brisco nailed a trey at the 16:23 mark. A GSU turnover and missed shot several minutes later led to another PVAMU basket as a Jules Montgomery tip-in bucket led to a nine-point deficit. GSU answered with two free throws by Terry Rose but Montrael Scott nailed a trey off an Andre Adams' assist to draw within eight.
Once again, Rose was a thorn in PVAMU's side as he answered Scott's basket with a three-pointer of his own to move GSU ahead by 11 at the 13:52 mark. However, the Panthers buckled down and outscored GSU 8-0 over the next 1:42 as Montgomery and point guard Andre Adams combined to score all eight points.
Grambling State held on for dear life as they led by as much as six over the next few minutes but PVAMU kept knocking on the door. Down 68-64 with 8:13 remaining, junior guard Montrael Scott nailed a huge trey for a one-point deficit followed b y a free throw from Demondre Chapman to tie the game at 68-all. After a pair of missed GSU free throws, PVAMU rebounded the ball but Adams turned the ball over. However, Adams quickly redeemed himself and returned the favor with a steal and a basket for PVAMU's first lead (70-68) since the contest began.
GSU's Antwan Scott answered back with a big three-pointer for the 71-70 lead and the Tigers held ground until the 4:56 mark when PVAMU's John Brisco nailed a three-pointer for the 75-74 margin. GSU's Shine missed a three-pointer on its next attempt and Demondre Chapman hit 1-of-2 free throws for the 76-74 margin 27 seconds later.
A missed jumper by Scott led to another huge opportunity by the Panthers as junior guard Tre Hagood fed Jules Montgomery a solid pass which led to a Montgomery three and PVAMU's largest lead of the night at 79-74 at the 3:23 mark. GSU's Antwan Scott kept the Tigers within striking distance as his jumper closed its gap to 79-76 and after a PVAMU turnover and missed three-pointer, GSU was within 79-78 with 1:48 left following Remond Brown's layup.
Brisco was fouled on the ensuing possession and hit both free throws for an 81-78 lead but Scott answered with two of his own to keep GSU within one-point at 81-80 at the 1:08 mark.
With 51 seconds left, Brisco missed a three-pointer followed by a missed GSU trey but Shine was in the right place at the right time as his put back moved the Tigers back ahead 82-80 with 30 seconds remaining. After a timeout, PVAMU ran the clock down to 13 seconds and Montrael Scott was fouled on the drive. With the potential for a fourth consecutive overtime contest in sight if both free throws don't fall, Scott nailed both free throws to move PVAMU ahead 83-82.
GSU's Scott called his own number over the final 13 seconds but misfired on his shot attempt which landed in the hands of Brisco. Brisco was fouled with 1.2 seconds and missed the go-ahead free throw while the second attempt was called off. GSU had one crack at a desperation attempt but fell short as time expired en route to the Panthers securing the hard fought win and Rimm's 12th career win over GSU.
Four players scored in double figures led by Montrael Scott's 18 points. The Panthers also picked up 17 apiece from Jules Montgomery and John Brisco while Chapman scored 15 points, pulled down nine rebounds and added three blocks.
The Panthers return home for a two-game homestand which begins on Saturday afternoon versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 5 p.m. inside the William Nicks Building on the PVAMU campus.
