PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M basketball teams return home to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday and Miss. Valley State Monday in the William "Billy" J. Nicks Building.
This weekend is PV Welcome Back Weekend to welcome back students, faculty, and staff for the spring semester, which started Thursday on The Hill. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 3 p.m. and Monday's doubleheader begins at 5:30 p.m. Monday night is also PVAMU Faculty & Staff appreciation night.
All games this weekend can be watched live online at pvpanthers.com/sportsnetwork.
Saturday begins a key stretch of the season for both teams, as the Lady Panthers (4-12 overall, 2-3 SWAC) and Panthers (5-14, 2-3) will each play five of the next seven games at home.
Prairie View A&M women's basketball team will need this weekend to bounce back after coming up short in two road key SWAC games. The Lady Panthers fell to Grambling State on Saturday in overtime 81-79, then falling to Jackson State 70-61.
This weekend will also be challenging for the Lady Panthers. Arkansas Pine Bluff will be entering Saturday's contest with a 3-12 overall record and are 1-4 in the conference, after falling to Alcorn Monday night 80-77 in Pine Bluff.
"It's great to be at home," said PVAMU head women's basketball coach Ravon Justice. "We knew being on the road was going to be tough games to play, but we have to make the needed adjustments and continue from here."
After opening league play with back-to-back wins, the Panthers have suffered three straight single-digit losses on the road, including Monday's 79-71 loss at SWAC leader Jackson State, one of only two unbeaten teams in league play.
J.D. Wallace has recorded a double-double in back-to-back games for the Panthers. He scored 10 points and had a career-high 17 rebounds at Grambling last Saturday, the highest single-game rebound total in the SWAC this season. Wallace followed that up with a career-high 17 points and 12 rebounds at Jackson St Monday night.
Wallace now has three career double-doubles (12 pts, 10 reb at Tulsa on 12/14) and three of the Panthers' five double-doubles this season (Gary Blackston 21 pts/reb vs. Georgia St.; Dennis Jones 15 pts, 10 ast. vs. Alcorn).
The other unbeaten team in the SWAC is Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Panthers' opponent on Saturday. UAPB (5-13, 5-0) has won on the road at Miss. Valley St. (80-71), Alabama A&M (69-62), and Alabama St. (94-68), and at home over Southern (78-76 OT) and Alcorn (71-59).
Martavious McKnight is second in the league in scoring (18.7), seventh in field goal percentage (44.8%), tied for fifth in assists (2.9), ninth in free throw percentage (75.8), sixth in steals (1.6), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (40.0%) and tied for fourth in made 3s per game (2.3).
"This is a very important segment and we intend to take full advantage," said PVAMU men's head basketball coach Byron Smith. "The road is tough, so home has to provide better play for us."
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