Prairie View A&M’s belief never wavered, even when the shots did.
The Panthers shook off a cold start and powered past Lehigh 67–55 in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four.
Prairie View was powered on Wednesday night by All-SWAC guard Dontae Horne, who poured in 25 points, seven rebounds, and four steals in a game to remember.
Forward Corey Wells was just as brilliant with 19 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Head coach Byron Smith said his team’s resilience was the difference after trailing 29-27 at halftime.
“We didn’t score the ball very well early on, but we kept defending and rebounding,” Smith told TruTV after the game. “That gave us a chance, and we knew in the second half our mission was going to pick up. These guys have tremendous resiliency — they’ve been raised right, and I knew we were going to get it going.”
WE DID IT JOE 🤫#PvamuMBB | #PantherPride pic.twitter.com/GooYKGgjR5
— PVAMU Men’s Basketball (@PVAMU_MBB) March 19, 2026
Dontae Horne, defense took over for the Panthers
Horne, who has been the team’s emotional leader all season and top scorer during the Panthers eight-game winning streak, found his rhythm after halftime to help flip the game’s momentum.
“I want to thank Corey Wells for keeping us in it early,” Horne said. “I kind of figured we were slow — new court, new ball, new environment. But I told myself to stop talking to the refs, go to the hole strong, and just get it done.”
Prairie View trailed by as many as eight in the first half before turning up its trademark defensive pressure in the second. The Panthers held Lehigh to 24 points after the break, forcing turnovers that turned into transition buckets.
“That ‘us against the world’ mindset showed up on the defensive end,” Horne said. “First half, we were feeling them out. Second half, we came out playing harder, tougher, and we had them locked in.”
PVAMU stamps its name in the first round 😮💨#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/mrvMT0TAXN
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2026
Historic tournament win
The victory marks Prairie View A&M’s first NCAA Tournament win since rejoining Division I, a milestone for a program that has built steadily back to national relevance under Smith’s leadership.
Now, the Panthers prepare for a monumental challenge — a matchup with Florida, the reigning champion. But for Smith and his group, belief has been the backbone all year, and that hasn’t changed.
“We’ve believed in who we are from day one,” Smith said. “This team just keeps finding ways to prove it.”
