The SWAC’s leading scorer didn’t play on Monday night, but Prairie View A&M didn’t need him against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
The UAPB men’s basketball team fell 73-61 at the William J. Nicks Building in Prairie View, Texas, for its first conference loss of the season.
UAPB (6-11, 3-1 SWAC) had one of its worst offensive outings of the year. The Golden Lions shot 33.3 percent from the field, their second-worst percentage of the season. Their 61 points were their third fewest. Only Washington (50) and SMU (60) held UAPB to fewer points.
The Golden Lions also missed a season-high nine free throws to finish 60.9 percent at the line. UAPB has only shot a lower percentage twice this season. UAPB shot 7 of 26 (26.9 percent) from 3-point range, its fifth-lowest percentage this season.
Senior guards Alex Mirhosseini and Quion Williams led what offense UAPB did generate. Mirhosseini scored 17 points before fouling out in the final minute, while Williams finished with 15. No other Golden Lion scored more than 8 points.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Panthers held senior forward Jaquan Scott to 5 points, his third time scoring fewer than 10 in a game this season. Freshman guard Milhan Charles scored 6, his fewest since Nov. 15 at Vanderbilt.
Prairie View (8-9, 3-1) played without graduate student guard Tai’Reon Joseph, whose 23 points per game leads the conference. The SWAC TV broadcast crew reported at tipoff he was a game-time decision two days after scoring 23 points in 40 minutes against Mississippi Valley State in a game Prairie View won 70-69.
Four Panthers stepped up in Joseph’s absence. Graduate forward Cory Wells scored a game-high 21 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists. Graduate guard Dontae Horne scored 18 points after a hot start, with graduate guard Lance Williams finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Graduate forward Keeshawn Mason contributed 11 points.
Prairie View shot 42.9 percent from the field and made six 3-pointers. The Panthers outscored UAPB 19-5 off turnovers and 10-1 in transition.
UAPB led 2-0 early, but the Panthers led most of the first half. A Mirhosseini 3-pointer tied the game at 25 with 3:21 to go in the half, but UAPB failed to retake the lead as Prairie View went on to lead 32-30 at halftime.
The Golden Lions had a strong start to the second half, coming out of the break with a set play resulting in a Trevon Payton 3-pointer to take a 33-32 lead. The teams traded the lead eight times in the first four minutes of the second half before Prairie View took the lead for good with a 13-1 run.
The Panthers went on to lead by as much as 69-51 with 2:19 remaining in the game. Prairie View struggled to close the game out, shooting 0 for 5 from the field and 8 for 16 at the free throw line in the final 5:58, but UAPB failed to take advantage. The Golden Lions made 4 of their final 10 shots.