Jayrn Johnson's 21-point outing led a spirited team effort as Prairie View A&M picked up its first win of the season and first home win over Southern since 2011 as they claimed a 71-65 win in the Baby Dome on Monday night.

Southern scored the game's first basket but the Panthers raced out and took control with an 8-0 run keyed by Karim York's four points. From that point, the Panthers displayed a team effort on both ends of the court in holding off the Jaguars over the next several minutes as five players would jump into the scoring column as they led 17-11 with 8:26 remaining.

The game would draw to a stall over the next few minutes as the Panthers missed six of their next seven shots while Southern chipped away and tied the game at 19-all at the 5:51 mark after Trelun Banks' layup.  The Panthers would regroup and regained control as Zachary Hamilton nailed a jumper followed by two free throws from Admassu Williams.  Southern would remain within two points over the next two minutes but the Panthers displayed their prowess from the free throw line as Jayrn Johnson and Hamilton hit two apiece.  An SU turnover led to a jumper by Johnson and the lead increased to 33-23 with 1:19 left after Tevin Bellinger's driving layup to the basket.  Southern scored the final three points of the half as the Panthers went into the break ahead 33-27.

The Panthers went inside to their interior players to open the second stanza as Williams and York combined to score the next seven points as Prairie View's lead went back up to double digits (11) following Williams' three-point play. Prairie View A&M would maintain its double-digit margin for the next five minutes behind another collective team effort but Southern began to heat up as a 9-0 run chopped the lead to 46-44.

Two free throws by Hamilton ended the drought as the Panthers led 48-44 with 9:18 left and Johnson drained a huge trey to give the Panthers some much-needed breathing room as they led 51-46.  Johnson's second consecutive trey and a free throw by Avery Lomax gave the Panthers a nine-point margin at the 7:18 mark but Banks would will the Jaguars back into the contest with a trey with 6:26 left.

From that point, the contest would turn into a Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex affair as Lomax (Desoto), Johnson (Dallas) and SU's Chris Hyder (Dallas) would combine to score seven of the next eight baskets with Lomax's two free throws at the 2:27 mark giving the Panthers a 66-57 lead. Southern would continue to attack the basket as Banks hit a layup and a PVAMU turnover led to an offensive rebound and tip-in by Shawn Prudhomme as Southern closed to within 66-61 with 1:56 left. 

The Jaguars were whistled for a foul on the ensuing possession as York hit 1-of-2 free throws to keep the lead at 67-61.  York redeemed himself on the ensuing possession with a big block and Lomax hit 1-of-2 free throws to extend PVAMU's advantage to 68-61 with 1:14 remaining.  Southern once again refused to lay down as Hyder connected on a layup but with 32 seconds left, Johnson nailed a back-breaking trey from the top of the key to give the Panthers a 71-63 advantage.  Hyder missed the ensuing shot attempt but received the ball back after Prudhomme's offensive rebound and scored a layup to cut the deficit to 71-65.   Despite Hyder's late antics, the Panthers held on to capture the win.

Johnson had a career-high 21 points and two steals while Hamilton followed with 12 points and Williams with 10.  York chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds followed by six boards from Williams.

The Panthers are back in action this weekend as they travel to Houston to face TSU at 7:30 p.m. inside the H&PE Arena.