TEMPE, Ariz. - Despite a season-best 26 points by senior
Darius Williams, the Prairie View A&M men's basketball team fell 88-79 to Arizona State Wednesday evening at Desert Financial Arena.
Williams was two points shy of tying his career-high, grabbing six rebounds while shooting 5-of-8 from three-point range. Senior
Devonte Patterson made his season debut with 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night, and senior
Gerard Andrus scored 10 points with a pair of steals.
The Panthers (3-6) shook off a sluggish start, using a 12-4 run -- capped by a Williams' jumper -- to overcome an early 8-2 deficit on their way to a 14-12 lead with 15:02 left.
The Sun Devils responded with a 9-2 surge to go ahead 23-16 with 9:07 left before the break, but Patterson converted a lay-up to pull the Panthers within five. The Sun Devils led by as many as eight in the stanza, but Williams knocked down a three to spark a stretch of 10 unanswered points, giving Prairie View A&M a 28-26 lead with 5:10 left in the half.
The sides weren't able to gain much distance between each other until Arizona State closed the half on a 10-3 run, carrying a 43-36 lead to intermission.
The Panthers fell behind by double-digits early in the second half, but refused to go away as Williams' hot shooting from beyond the arc led a furious comeback. After Williams buried a trey to cut the deficit to three with 14:11 left, however, the Panthers found themselves on the wrong end of an 18-3 run that resulted in an 18-point deficit with 9:35 left.
Undeterred, the Panthers rallied behind Patterson, who scored six points as Prairie View A&M clawed to within seven with 2:51 remaining. Ultimately, the Panthers were unable to get any closer the rest of the way.
Prairie View A&M outrebounded Arizona State 39-34. The Panthers shot 44.6 percent from the field (25-of-56), but the Sun Devils enjoyed a plus-16 advantage from the foul line.
Remy Martin led Arizona State with 21 points, one of four Sun Devils in double figures. Romello White added 14 points and 15 rebounds, shooting 10-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Next Up:
Prairie View A&M remains on the road, facing Loyola Marymount on Dec. 13. Tip-off time is set for 9 PM CST (8 PM MT).
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