FORT WORTH, Texas – For the third time in four games, Prairie View A&M stood toe-to-toe with its opponent but fell victim to a second half run once again as TCU pulled away in a 73-55 win on Friday night.
Returning to the court for the first time since Dec. 2, it took the Panthers nearly seven minutes to get their groove back offensively but the team made up for it on the defensive side of the ball as they held TCU to only six points during that span. Making his second career start, junior forward Tyler Miller took advantage of the opportunity as he scored five of PVAMU's first seven points before giving way to Admassu Williams' layup for PVAMU's first lead at 9-8 with 11:14 remaining.
The contest remained tight throughout the first half with the Panthers holding the lead for nearly three minutes as Tevin Bellinger hit four free throws along with a basket by Karim York. However, TCU went on a 6-0 run to claim a 20-19 advantage at the 4:04 mark and extended the run to 10-2 to move ahead 24-19. Williams hit four free throws over the final 3:01 to keep PVAMU within striking distance as the defense would do the rest as TCU led 26-23 at the half.
Both teams would trade baskets to open the second stanza but TCU would begin to pull away as they built an eight-point (33-25) lead with a 7-2 run to open the half. The Panthers scored the next three points to pull within 33-28 and held on for the next two minutes as TCU would lead by seven on three occasions.
Eventually, TCU found a way to slip past the Panthers as a 14-5 run would break the game open and give them a 16-point lead at 53-37 with 10:36 left. The Panthers wouldn't draw any closer as TCU broke the game open as they claimed its sixth win in the all-time series.
Williams led PVAMU with his second career double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds while Tyler Miller also had a career-high of 12 points. Ja'Donta Blakely dished out six assists while Blakely and Zach Hamilton had three steals apiece.
The Panthers travel to New Orleans on Monday as they'll face Tulane at 7 p.m.
