BOX SCORE MADISON, Wis. – Prairie View A&M had one of its most impressive first halves of the season as they hung tough with the University of Wisconsin before the Badgers pulled away in the second stanza en route to a 85-67 win.
 
The Panthers came out on fire to open the contest as Jayrn Johnson and Tevin Bellinger hit two three-pointers apiece as the Panthers led UW 16-15 with 13:09 left in the half.  PVAMU would cool off from that point and the Badgers took advantage of the free throw line along with several untimely PVAMU turnovers to pull ahead 36-23 after a 20-8 surge.
 
Head coach Byron Rimm II's team put forth an inspired defensive effort as they confused the Badgers with a variety of defensive schemes as the Panthers went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to pull within 36-31 after Ja'Donta Blakely hit 1-of-2 free throws.  Wisconsin would end its drought on a basket from Ethan Happ but Bellinger nailed a trey to pull the team within 38-34 with 54 ticks remaining.  UW added a pair of free throws with 46 seconds remaining and both teams traded baskets in the final 21 seconds as the Panthers were down 42-36 at the break.
 
Bellinger's aggressiveness in the second half closed the gap to 44-42 at the 16:54 mark as he scored four of PVAMU's first six points.  However, the Panthers would shoot 3-for-8 over the next six minutes while UW once again enjoyed its advantage at the charity stripe along with several treys to pull away 61-46.  Prairie View A&M would never recover from that point as the Badgers went on to claim their third win in the all-time series.
 
Bellinger led the Panthers with 21 points while Hamilton followed with 12 points.  Admassu Williams grabbed a team-high six rebounds and blocked two shots.
 
PVAMU returns to action at UNLV on Saturday.