PRAIRIE VIEW – The second season begins for Prairie View A&M men's basketball as the Panthers open their defense of the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship with league games against Alcorn State and Southern.

The Panthers welcome the Braves on Jan. 4 with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m. and take on the Jaguars at 8 p.m. on Jan. 6. Both contests will be held inside the Baby Dome.

Prairie View A&M (4-9) heads into league play on the heels of a 92-77 victory over Huston-Tillotson. The Panthers got a season-best effort from senior and SWAC Preseason Player of the Year Devonte Patterson, who scored 21 points in the win. Patterson leads the Panthers with a 14.2 points per game average.

Senior Gerard Andrus has had a steady presence for the defending conference champions, averaging 13.7 points and 5.2 boards per game while shooting a sparkling 56.1 percent from the field. Senior Darius Williams has been one of the Panthers' best off the bench performer, averaging 12.1 points per game.

Senior Chancellor Ellis is currently the SWAC's lone member of the 40-40-80 club as far as shooting, leading the league with a 41.0 percent clip from beyond the arc and averaging 9.5 points per game.

Prairie View A&M leads the league in opponent three-point percentage, limiting adversaries to a 32.4 percent mark. Given that the Braves are the league's top-ranked three-point shooting team, the Panthers will count on their perimeter defense to limit Alcorn State's proficiency from beyond the arc.

Prairie View A&M is ranked among the top 25 nationally in turnovers forced per game at 17.8 and is currently riding a seven-game win streak versus the Braves, with each of the last four wins at home coming by double digits. The Panthers have handled Southern in similar fashion, having won each of the last five meetings between the teams.

Scouting the Braves:
- Alcorn State (4-7) looks to rebound from a 92-57 loss to Santa Clara on Dec. 30. The Braves have been uneven as of late, alternating wins and losses over their last six contests.

- The Braves boast the league's second-highest scoring offense and defense at 76.6 points per game and 73.5 points per game allowed, respectively.

- The Braves have four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by senior marksman Maurice Howard. Howard is scoring 14.3 points per game and connecting on nearly 39 percent of his tries from beyond the arc.

Scouting the Jaguars:
- Southern (3-10) enters the weekend looking to halt a six-game slide. Though the Jaguars don't have a player averaging 10 points or more in per-game scoring, the Jaguars have the fourth-best scoring offense in the league at 69.5 points per game.

- Southern has been dominant on the offensive glass, ranking 24^th nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 13.2.

- Damiree Burns leads the team with an 8.7 points per game average, pulling down nearly five rebounds per game.

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