A 16-6 start ignited Prairie View A&M men's basketball team and a deep bench shined as the Panthers rolled to a 87-57 final non-conference game win over visiting Huston-Tillostson Wednesday afternoon in the William J. Nicks "Babydome".
 
Ten different players scored for coach Byron Smith's squad, led by forward Zachary Hamilton with 18 points.  The Panthers forced 23 turnovers scoring 32 points off of the Rams miscues.
 
"We came out and played solid and energetic and that's what I like to see with these kids," Smith said of his team's performance today. "Everybody got a chance to see the floor and it's a good feeling when you can rotate people in and out like we did and everyone contributing."
 
The Panthers came out smokin' during the first 10 minutes, hitting 59 percent from the field to grab a 20-11 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half.  Huston-Tillostson closed to within one a couple of times and took the lead once also with 8:17 remaining, but PV was able to advance their lead to 12 before the break.
 
In the second half after the Panthers built the margin to 32 points, the Rams tried to chip into PV's lead, but just could not get any closer then 21 points (61-40) midway through the half.  Hutson-Tillostson watched as PV used a run to swell the margin again to 32 points with 3:20 left on the clock.  The final 30-point margin is the largest lead that PV has had thus far this season.
 
It was Troy Thompson who was the catalyst in the first half, leading the Panthers with eight points during the first 20 minutes.  He finished with 16 points, one assist, and two steals. 
 
In the second half, Hamilton hit three 3-points, scoring 12 of his 18 points after the break.  He was 3-for-4 from behind the arc and also had one assists, one block and one steal.
 
Shay'rone Jett and Avery Lomax each added 10 points.  Jett also had two assists, and two steals, while Lomax had three assists and two steals off the bench.  Ja'Donta Blakley had nine points and led the team with five rebounds.
 
As a team, PV shot 57 percent from the field, going 7-for-15 frp, 3-point range for 46.7 percent. 
 
Prairie View will back in action Monday at 7:30 pm when they open SWAC play at Southern.
 
 
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