BERKELEY, Calif. - Despite limiting California to its worst offensive performance of the season, the Prairie View A&M men's basketball dropped a 54-50 heartbreaker Monday evening at Haas Pavilion.
The game was a part of the 2K Empire Classic benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project.
Senior Chancellor Ellis and Sophomore Faite Williams scored 12 points each to lead the Panthers. Junior Lennell Henry grabbed a team-high 12 boards along with six points and a pair of blocks.
Prairie View A&M (1-4) shook off a slow start, using an 8-2 run to turn a 5-0 deficit into its first lead of the game with 16:05 left in the first half.
Though the Bears (4-0) responded to pull ahead, the Panthers stayed in striking distance until junior Jonathan Jackson knocked down a turnaround jumper, and Ellis followed with a bucket to put the Panthers up 20-17 midway through the half.
The advantage was short-lived as Cal's Matt Bradley tied the game with a three-pointer, but Jackson slashed to the lane for a layup and senior Darius Williams buried a jumper for a 24-23 Panthers lead with 8:59 left before the break.
However, the Panthers went cold, going 1-of-12 to end the half as Cal used a 13-2 run to close the half with a 35-26 lead.
After the Bears pushed their lead to double-digits early in the second half, the Panthers turned it around with a dominant stretch of their own, led by F. Williams who took over to the tune of 10 second-half points that powered an 18-2 Panthers surge that put them ahead 44-39 with 8:22 left.
A quartet of Bradley free throws sandwiched a Grant Anticevich basket as the Bears managed to pull ahead by one with 6:41 left. The sides traded baskets until Bradley scored to put the Bears up 49-46 with 3:37 left.
A Henry dunk brought the Panthers within one, but Anticevich nailed a three-ball to make it 52-48 Cal with 2:40 left. Ellis responded with a basket on the Panthers' next turn to again bring them within one possession with less than two minutes left.
The sides traded missed three-pointers, and after Cal converted the front end of a trip to the line, the Panthers' upset hopes were dashed by an untimely offensive foul call. From there, the Bears sealed it from the charity stripe.
The Panthers held Cal to 17-of-44 shooting (39%) from the field while shooting 22-of-59 (37%) from the floor. Entering the game, the Bears had averaged better than 80 points per game and had shot better than 50 percent from the field in each of their prior three contests.
The Panthers harassed the Bears into 22 turnovers, scoring 21 points off of them. Both sides corralled 35 rebounds.
Next Up:
The Panthers continue their West Coast swing Friday in a neutral site contest versus Georgia State. The game will be on the campus of California Baptist in Riverside, Calif. with a schedule start time of 7 p.m. CST (5 p.m. local time).
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