CINCINNATI – The Prairie View A&M men’s basketball team put together a valiant fight but fell short of the upset as the University of Cincinnati rallied in the second half to claim a 69-62 win at Fifth Third Arena on Monday evening.
The Panthers (1-1) stormed out of the gates as they led 15-3 with 15:39 remaining in the first half. Cincinnati closed to within six points three minutes later but the Panthers once again kept their foot on the gas pedal as a trey by junior Duwan Kornegay gave Prairie View a 33-18 lead at the 5:11 mark. Once again, the Bearcats fought back and trimmed its deficit to six as the stanza came to a close but Kornegay nailed a jumper with three seconds left in the half to send the Panthers into the locker room with a 38-30 halftime advantage.
Prairie View moved ahead by double digits (46-36) once again after Christopher Jones’ lay-up with 16:37 left in the second half. However, the roles reversed from that point as Cincinnati went on a 21-2 run over the next 10 minutes to move on top 57-48. The Bearcats continued to lead by nine up until 50 seconds remaining when Jones cut Prairie View’s deficit to 66-59 following a lay-up. UC’s Rashad Bishop made 1-of-2 free throws for an eight-point margin but Prairie View continued to fight as Kornegay drained a three-pointer with 33 seconds left to bring the score to 67-62.
Cincinnati’s Lance Stephenson missed two free throws with 32 seconds left and gave Prairie View a shot at making it a one possession game. Unfortunately, Tarrence Garrison’s jumper fell short with 16 ticks left and Stephenson connected on two free throws following the miss to secure the win for the Bearcats.
Five players scored in double digits for the Panthers led by Hugee’s 16 points. Dorian McDaniel, Michael Griffin and Kornegay chipped in with 11 each while Jones had an all-around performance with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
The Panthers return to the court on Thursday evening with a home match-up against Florida Gulf Coast University at 7 p.m. in the William Nicks Building.
