PRAIRIE VIEW – Prairie View A&M senior Darius Williams is considered by his teammates and coaches to be one of the best scorers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, regardless of his status as the team’s sixth man.
Tonight, Williams once again proved the Panthers men’s basketball team right as he scored 22 points to help the Panthers handle the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 67-54 during league play Saturday evening in the Baby Dome.
The win marks the 20th straight home win for the Panthers (9-10, 5-1 SWAC), which is tied for the third-longest active home winning streak in the nation.
Senior Devonte Patterson scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the winning effort, and Gerard Andrus scored 11 points.
With Andrus and Patterson feeling it early on, the Panthers raced out to an 11-4 lead, but the Golden Lions (3-15, 2-4 SWAC) responded with an 11-3 run to draw within a basket of the Panthers. However, Williams insured that Prairie View A&M would stay in control. scoring five of the team’s next eight points to push the lead to seven.
The Golden Lions were up to the task and again returned fire, this time in the form of six unanswered points that cut the Panthers’ lead to one with 7:36 left in the half. Williams then knocked down a three that ultimately sparked a 10-4 close to the half in favor of the Panthers, who led 35-28 at the break.
From that point, the Panthers were largely unchallenged as senior Antione Lister and Patterson each converted a bucket to push the lead to nine. Eventually, Patterson made a lay-up to give the Panthers an 11-point lead with 12:28 to go, and Williams followed with a jumper to give them a bigger cushion.
The Golden Lions got within single-digits after a shot by Alvin Stredic Jr. made it 49-40 Prairie View A&M with nine minutes left, but Andrus responded with a pair of points in the paint. From there, the Panthers led by at least 10 for virtually the rest of the way, holding a lead as great as 16 at one point.
The Panthers’ bench outscored UAPB’s bench 34-17. Prairie View A&M shot 42.6 percent from the field (23-of-54) and out-rebounded the Golden Lions 30-25. The Panthers also scored 25 points off of 22 UAPB turnovers.
Marquell Carter led UAPB with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Courtesy: PVAMU Athletics
