Senior forward Darnell Hugee throws one down making the crowd rumble throughout the William J. Nicks Building Friday evening as the Panthers of Prairie View A&M University dominated the Ecclesia College Royals, 83-53. The victory would end a three game losing streak and keep the Panthers undefeated at home.
In the first half the Panthers seemed to not take Ecclesia College seriously, after leading 31- 18 with 6:`47 remaining in the 1st half the Royals pulled within five points going on a 11-3 run bringing the score to 34-29. Point guard Michael Griffin shined early scoring all of his ten points in the first half along with four out of his five assists. Regaining their swag, the Panthers would use a 9-2 run to bring their lead back to double digits en route to a 45-33 halftime advantage.
Prairie View won the game within the game, showing toughness outshining Ecclesia in points in the paint 38 to 12. Leading that attack was Hugee, who had a game high of 34 points and ten rebounds, along with four assists and five blocks filling up the box score.
In the 2nd half the Panthers seemed to lock it in gear, at the time only up 45-36, as they used a 14-3 run to pull ahead 59-39 with 13:11 remaining in the game. The Royals of Ecclesia College would not come within 18 points for the rest of the game. The Panthers were able to win without point guard Chris Jones and freshman guard Chris Sights got the opportunity to show off his skills. Only tallying up four points while dishing out three assists, Sights showed he can be a contributor to the team.
The Panthers improved their record to 4-5 for the season and will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 20 against the Dallas Christian Crusaders at the William Nicks Building beginning at 2 p.m.