BOX SCORE MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A five-point turnaround at the close of the first half changed the course of the contest as Alabama State controlled the second half for a 76-63 win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday evening in the Acadome.
The Panthers led from the opening tip as they raced out to a 7-3 lead behind five points from junior guard John Brisco. ASU closed to within two but the Panthers maintained their composure as Tre Hagood came off the bench to score four consecutive points for a 13-5 Panther margin with 13:19 remaining. The Hornets stormed back and drew to within 15-14 with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes but the Panthers responded with a trey from Brisco to lead 18-14. Brisco's trey ignited a 10-3 surge which saw the Panthers create some much-needed separation as they led 25-17 with 6:34 left in the first half.
While the shots stopped falling for the Panthers, they fell for ASU as the Hornets knotted the contest at 27-all four minutes later. Once again, Brisco responded with a timely trey for a 30-27 lead at the 1:41 mark followed by two free throws from Louis Munks for the 32-27 advantage 20 seconds later.
With Prairie View A&M ahead 32-30 with time running down, Scott found Munks for a thunderous alley-oop but Munks was whistled for a technical foul immediately following the dunk. ASU's Jamel Waters hit both free throws and DeMarcus Robinson completed the five-point swing with a three-pointer at the buzzer as ASU led for the first time in the contest by a 35-34 margin.
Holding the momentum to open the second half, ASU held on to its lead with a firm grip until the 12:38 mark as PVAMU's Montrael Scott scored a layup for a 46-45 margin. The lead was short-lived though as ASU's Robinson answered with a layup but a free throw by Hagood tied the game at 47-all several seconds later.
Both ASU and PVAMU hung close as Demondre Chapman knotted the contest once again at 49-all with 11:01 left but the Hornets broke out the gates with a 7-0 run which spanned 1:15 for the 56-49 advantage. Two free throws by Reggis Onwukamuche closed PVAMU's gap to 56-52 and a basket by Scott with 7:14 left kept the Panthers within striking distance. However, missed shots (9-of-32) and turnovers (17) continued to doom the Panthers as ASU slowly pulled away as they led by as much as 16.
Chapman posted the double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Munks and Brisco added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
The first half of SWAC play concludes on Monday night as Panthers will face Alabama A&M in Huntsville, Ala. at 8:05 p.m. The contest will be televised live by ESPNU.
