PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – Alabama State's DeMarcus Robinson scored 26 points Tuesday, and none were bigger than the two that came on his last basket, which he knocked down from 15 feet as time expired to help the Hornets steal a 73-71 win from Prairie View A&M.

A crowd of approximately 1,000 people at William J. Nicks Arena was expecting overtime after Prairie View A&M's Karim York knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with six seconds left in the game to tie the score at 71-71. Brandon Graham missed a 3-pointer on Alabama State's ensuing possession, and the ball landed out of bands with 0.4 seconds left to give the Hornets one final chance.

Jamel Waters inbounded the pass to Robinson just to the side of the free throw line, and Robinson caught the ball and got off the winning shot in one fluid motion to give the Hornets (12-6) their eighth win in nine Southwestern Athletic Conference games.

Montrael Scott scored a team-high 18 points for Prairie View A&M (6-16), which fell to 4-5 at the conclusion of the first round of SWAC play. Tre Hagood added 17 points and York finished with 12 points for the Panthers.

Alabama State remained tied with Texas Southern for first place in the SWAC.

Bobby Brown scored 17 points and pulled in a game-high eight rebounds for Alabama State. Wendell Lewis added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the Hornets.

Prairie View A&M led by as many as eight points midway through the first half, but a 9-1 Alabama State run between the 8:27 and 5:03 marks allowed the Hornets to tie the game at 28-28. Alabama State took a 37-36 lead into halftime.

The Hornets kept a multiple-possession lead for most of the second half, but couldn't shake the Panthers off their heels. Alabama State led by as many seven points multiple times during the second half; Lewis knocked down a jumper in the paint with 6:55 remaining to stretch the Hornets' lead back to 62-55.

From there, the Panthers, embarked on a 10-2 to reclaim a 65-64 lead with 4:28 left to play in the game. Scott knocked down a fast-break basket after Charleston Dobbs came up with a steal to regain the lead for PVAMU.

The Panthers had a chance to take the lead with a 1:39 remaining when Lewis committed his fifth foul of the game on York. York hit one out of two free throws to tie the game at 68. Alabama State then went ahead again on one of Robinson's 3-pointers 25 seconds later. Robinson was 8-of-11 from the floor, and drained four out of five 3-pointers.

Prairie View A&M returns to action Saturday when they visit Texas Southern. Game time between the Panthers and Tigers is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.