The Panthers started the home stand with a disappointing loss Saturday night when they fell to Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-54.
The Golden Lions were led by Tavaris Washington as he scored 13 points. Washington was 6 of 7 from the field and set the tone early in the game with a dunk to put the Golden Lions (5-12, 5-1) up 2-0 and start a 7-0 run. Prairie View A&M did not score their first field goal until the 14:43 mark in the first half.
The Panthers (9-8, 4-2) would tie the game at 28-28 at the half. With the score 39-36 the Golden Lions would go on a 13-4 run and go ahead 52-40 with 7:41 left to play. The Golden Loins would not let their foot off the gas and their lead was not threatened for the rest of the game. Hugee led the Panthers with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds and Meadows added 11 points and six rebounds.
The Panthers grabbed 37 rebounds including 14 offensive boards, to the Golden Lions’ 28 and just four offensive boards. The Panthers downfall was from 3-point range where they only managed to shoot 2 of 13 (15.4 percent).
It took overtime to take down the visiting Delta Devils, but Prairie View and the play of Hugee overcame the comeback by Mississippi Valley State. Hugee scored eight of his game-high 25 points in the overtime session, the Panthers went on to grab the emotional victory 69-63.
The Panthers had a promising start with a 10-3 lead in the first four minutes of the game. Duwan Kornegay had a huge impact from the wing position, Kornegay scored 11 points in the first half alone bringing a spark to the team and the 4,275 fans watching in the William Nicks Building Monday night.
With everyone contributing guard Griffin came off the bench and seemed to take control of the offense as the Panthers went on a 6-0 run bringing the score to 48-38 at the 8:51 mark.
In the final 2:15 of the game MVSU went on a 8-0 run to tie the game at 57.
In overtime it was all Prairie View as they knew they wanted to get to the big man, “Hugee.” Only up by two with 1:31 remaining the Panthers held off MVSU as they committed consecutive turnovers. Griffin would knock down two clutch free throws in the final 27 seconds to seal the win.
Prairie View will roll into Alabama to face off against Alabama A&M on Jan. 30 and Alabama State on Feb. 1.