BOX SCORE HOUSTON - Despite a double-double from senior Devonte Patterson, the Prairie View A&M men's basketball team dropped a hotly-contested 71-67 affair at Texas Southern during Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action Saturday evening in H&PE Arena.

Patterson led the Panthers (6-10, 2-1 SWAC) with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Gerard Andrus added 16 points, and senior Darius Williams scored 10 points.

A back-and-forth matchup from the opening tip, Prairie View A&M gained some distance on the Tigers with a 9-2 run capped by a Patterson jumper to build a 24-17 lead with 8:30 left before intermission. Texas Southern's Eden Ewing led a 5-0 spurt for the Tigers as they drew within a bucket, but Patterson pushed the Panthers' lead back to six with 4:43 left.

Justin Hopkins then caught the hot hand for the Tigers, powering a 9-0 Tigers surge to push the Panthers into a 31-28 hole, but the sides battled to a 36-36 tie heading to the locker room.

Following an Andrus jumper that pushed the Panthers ahead, Prairie View A&M found itself on the wrong end of an 11-2 run that resulted in a 47-40 deficit with 14:02 left. Senior Chancellor Ellis brought the Panthers within one possession, but Prairie View A&M wasn't quite able to overtake the Tigers, as Hopkins and Bryson Etienne kept the Panthers at bay down the stretch.

The Panthers used timely trips to the charity stripe to stay close, as Ellis and Patterson each converted a pair of free throws to bring them within four, but it appeared they'd get no closer until a final late charge. Down 63-56 with 5:30 left to play, Andrus nailed a jumper to spark an 8-2 run that got the Panthers within one with just under two minutes left to play, but Etienne converted a three-point play with 31 ticks left to put the Tigers up five, a deficit the Panthers weren't able to recover from.

Prairie View A&M shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the floor and out-rebounded the Tigers 35-30. Prairie View A&M was outscored 34-22 in the paint.

Four Tigers players scored in double figures, led by Etienne's 18.

Next Up:
The Panthers look to rebound next Saturday when they travel to Grambling State. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.