In dramatic fashion, the Panthers went on the road and defeated Mississippi Valley State from the heroic play of senior point Guard Christopher Jones who drove the length of the court with 1.5 seconds remaining and completed a layup that gave the Panthers a 69-68 victory. This victory marked the first time the Panthers have won on the campus of Mississippi Valley State since the 1980s.
With the home crowd locked and loaded for senior night, the MVSU started off fast from the jump and took a 10-4 lead, with MVSU junior Darian Donald adding all ten of those points. Things wouldn’t get better for the Panthers as the Delta Devils would catch fire behind the three-point line and increase their lead 20-12.
The Panthers knew their opponents would come out fast and would have to maintain their composure, which they did, to come back with a 7-0 run that cut their opponents’ lead to 20-19, causing a back and forth battle on the offensive side, until long range shooter. Alex Richman drained a three that gave the Panthers their first lead of the game 28-27 with 1:03 remaining in the first half. The lead would last long as both teams kept going back and ended in a 32-32 halftime tie.
MVSU would start the second half with great ball movement that allowed them to go up by four, but with the skilled attack from the Panthers on the offensive end, they quickly knotted up the game.
The contest would seemingly go back and forth with both teams putting their feet on the gas and breaking away, until MVSU went on a 8-2 run that increased their advantage 54-48 at the nine minute mark.
This run was nothing new to the Panthers, they maintained their compsure again to spark a 7-0 run to get themselves right back into the game, the Panthers’ McDaniel keyed the run with four of the team’s seven points that gave them the advantage 55-54 with 6:48 left. The game would constantly go back and forth with lead changes and drives.
Senior guard Christopher Jones nailed a crucial three-pointer that helped the Panthers take a 64-62 lead over MVSU with 1:06 remaining in the game.
The Delta Devils would answer back with 30 seconds left in the game with a three-pointer that gave them the lead 65-64, but that was short lived as well by the Panthers’ efforts of Michael Griffin who stormed down court and hit a three pointer of his own, taking the lead 65-67 with 16 seconds left.
MVSU would respond quickly in the same way with another huge three that gave them back the lead 68-67 with six seconds left, and with no time-out being called from Coach Rimm II, drove the length of the court and completed the layup that gave the Panthers the lead and eventually the game.
McDaniel led the Panthers in scoring with 22 and seven rebounds while Griffin scored 11 points. Jones scored nine points and six assists while Brandon Webb also scored nine and grabbed five rebounds.
In another encounter. last Saturday, Prairie View A&M men’s basketball team came up short on the road against Arkansas Pine Bluff’s last minute heroics, with a game-winning basket as time expired propelling them 57-55 over the Panthers in overtime.
As the second half started it would seem that UAB could break away from the Panthers and finally get a substantial lead when they were up 35-31 but the Panthers’ Jones nailed a three pointer that cut their margin down to one. With outstanding defense from both teams, the game would occasionally become just a defensive battle causing each team to go without scoring for spurts of the game.
Finally, the Panthers would put their stamp in the game with a three point field goal by sophomore Tim Meadow’s that would give the Panthers the lead 38-37, allowing the Panthers to gain the momentum they needed to keep the lead almost through the second half.
With the Panthers surging on the road, UAB had to come up with an answer, and with persistent play on both sides of the court, they were able to fight their way back into the game, and with 4:30 remaining, they were able to recapture the lead.
The Panthers would answer a minute later by regaining the lead 47-46 in the closing minutes of the game. With time running out UAB was forced to foul sophomore guard Michael Griffin to the free throw line who went 1-2 making the lead 48-46 with only 36 seconds left.
Next possession UAB missed a layup attempt but fortunately the ball went out of bounds off a Panther player. With 18 seconds left UAB’s Tavaris Washington drove hard to the basket and tied the game 48-48 and with two failed attempts from the Panthers, the game would go into overtime.
UAB would score first but the Panthers would answer back constantly like a sparring match. In the closing minutes of overtime the Panthers were down by three, 55-52 until Jones hit a three in the left corner to tie the game up. The next possession for UAB, was to stall until they could get the last shot in which they did, they ran the clock down until 10 seconds to start their offense. UAB’s Lebaron Weathers received the ball and with an outstanding play, he made the last field goal that gave UAB the victory.
Jones led the Panthers in scoring with twelve, McDaniel and Meadows added 11 points and big man Garrison led the team in rebounding.