The Prairie View A&M Panthers continue their three-game homestand Saturday at 5 p.m. against the Tigers of Jackson State.  With the second half of SWAC play underway, every point counts as seeding is at stake for the upcoming SWAC Tournament in March at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The Panthers ended their three-game slide last weekend with a much-needed win over SWAC rival Texas Southern by a margin of 85-77.  Even though the final score indicates an eight-point victory, the game was very close down the stretch as the Panthers made a defensive stand in the final seconds to seal the win.

As a result of the win, the Panthers are now in a logjam as they're two games behind Alabama State for second, a half-game back behind Alabama A&M and Arkansas-Pine Bluff for third place, tied with TSU for fifth, a game ahead of Alcorn for sixth and two games ahead of Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State for eighth place.

Junior guard Montrael Scott continues to lead the way as he opened round two of SWAC play with 26 points against TSU. For his performance versus TSU, Scott was named the SWAC's Men's Basketball Player of the Week.  The Dallas native continues to make a bid for All-SWAC honors as he leads PVAMU with 15.3 points per game while also contributing 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.  He also ranks second in scoring amongst SWAC leaders while also shooting 43 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three-point line.  Senior forward Demondre Chapman follows with 11.9 points and a team-high 5.4 rebounds while junior guard John Brisco and senior guard Louis Munks chips in with 11.8 and 10.1 points, respectively. 

The Panthers have won four of the past six match-ups versus Jackson State dating back to Jan. 14, 2012.  After a surprising non-conference start, Jackson State has struggled with a 4-7 SWAC mark but is a dangerous opponent nevertheless as its past three losses have been by an average of three points per game.  Julysses Nobles leads the way with 14.8 points per game followed by Brandon West's double-double average of 12.7 points and 10.3 rebounds.

It took two overtimes last month for Prairie View A&M to hold off Jackson State by a margin of 85-80 in Jackson, Miss. as Munks scored 23 points.

PVAMU's Byron Rimm II is 7-11 lifetime versus Jackson State and 1-0 against JSU head coach Wayne Brent on the sidelines.  At home in his coaching career, Rimm is 22-3 in the Baby Dome versus non-conference foes and 39-28 against SWAC opponents.  A win on Saturday would match the team's longest win streak (3) over JSU since winning three straight from Jan. 19, 2008 to Jan. 19, 2009.

Prairie View A&M will return to action Monday night with a match-up versus Grambling State at 7:30 p.m. inside the Baby Dome.