Déjà vu struck again for the Prairie View A&M Panthers as they dropped their fourth straight game in the final seconds as Mississippi Valley State clamed a 76-73 win inside the Baby Dome.
In a stark contrast to Saturday's game, the Panthers set the tone early on both ends as an early 11-4 run broke open a deadlocked 6-6 contest. During the run, Jayrn Johnson sparked the Panthers with a dunk off an Avery Lomax steal followed by a trey. MVSU would end the run and claw to within four at 17-13 but the Panthers would extend the lead to double digits (23-13) at the 9:45 mark thanks to its defensive effort as Karim York scored four points during that span along with forcing three Delta Devil turnovers.
The Panthers remained relentless on the boards to protect the early lead as they used their size to wear the Delta Devils down on both sides of the ball. Two free throws by Karim York extended the lead to 31-18 at the 5:25 mark and it seemed the Panthers would be on their on way to a comfortable first half.  However, the shots stopped falling and the turnovers began to mount as Mississippi Valley State clawed back with a 9-2 run to close within 33-27 with 3:09 remaining. Freshman Malik Amos and junior Tevin Bellinger answered with three-pointers of their own to keep the Panthers up by nine but MVSU scored the final three points of the first half to trail 39-36.
Prairie View A&M would hold on for dear life in the first four minutes of the second stanza as the Delta Devils would tie and draw within one point on two occasions. Despite MVSU's charge, the Panthers did just enough to hold them off and keep the game a two-possession affair as Charleston Dobbs, Bellinger and Jordan Giddings hit key baskets to up PVAMU's margin to 52-46 with 13:52 remaining.
MVSU's Jabari Alex cut their deficit to 52-49 but Jordan Giddings keyed a 6-0 run with four points to increase PVAMU's lead to 58-49 nearly a minute later. Once again, the lead would dwindle as MVSU went on a 12-1 run to reclaim a 61-59 lead as PVAMU missed four shots along with a turnover. PVAMU narrowly avoided a shot clock violation and tied the game at 61-all on Ja'Donta Blakely's jumper off Zach Hamilton's offensive rebound. The teams would trade baskets once again to remain tied at 63-all and out of nowhere, the contest turned into a long distance shootout as MVSU's Rashaan Surles and Blakely exchanged three balls for a 66-all tie with 6:17 remaining.
The Panthers would hit an offensive wall as they missed their next six shots as MVSU would pull away for a 72-66 lead at the 3:49 mark. Admassu Williams would end the drought with a much-needed bucket to draw within four at 72-68. MVSU would add a free throw for a 73-68 lead but the Panthers would get back into the game with their defense as they forced three consecutive turnovers which led to two fast break dunks from Jayrn Johnson and a 73-72 deficit.
Karim York came up with a big block on the defensive end with 1:15 left and the Panthers  would tie the game at 73-all with 1:03 left after a free throw from Giddings. After the free throw, the Panthers played solid defense all the way to the waning seconds on MVSU's next possession but MVSU's Isaac Williams rebounded a missed shot and hit a jumper to move ahead 75-73 with 42 seconds left.
On PVAMU's ensuing possession, the Panthers worked the ball patiently for an open look but Johnson's three-ball rimmed out. However, Williams picked up the huge offensive rebound and was fouled but missed both free throws with 17 seconds left.
Forced to foul, MVSU would hit 1-of-2 free throws to move ahead 76-73 with nine seconds remaining and the Panthers had an opportunity to tie the game but couldn't get a clean look at the basket to force overtime.
Hamilton led PVAMU with 13 points followed by 12 from Johnson and 10 by Williams. Williams fell one rebound short of a double-double as he led PVAMU with nine boards.
The Panthers are back in action on Saturday as they'll travel to Huntsville, Ala. to face Alabama A&M at 6 p.m.
