Tigers fall to Prairie View A&M 58-55

by: Michael A. Hines
 
HOUSTON- The Texas Southern Tigers put forth a great effort but fell short Saturday night as they would lose to the rival Prairie View A&M Panthers 58-55 in front of a packed HPE Arena. 
 
The Panthers Montrael Scott led all scorers with 16 points while shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.       
 
The game was tight throughout as the lead would change hands ten times.  Texas Southern would take a 26-24 lead into halftime on a jumper by Madarious Gibbs.
 
Prairie View A&M came out in the second half and gained the early momentum pushing their lead to six, 40-34, on a layup by John Brisco with 13:15 to play in the game.
 
The Tigers would rally late pulling ahead on an offensive rebound and put back by David Blanks that would give Texas Southern the lead 51-49 with 4:05 remaining in regulation.  Prairie View A&M would eventually take the lead for good on a 3-point basket from Karim York. 
 
Texas Southern would have an opportunity to pull even in the closing seconds but would falter from the free throw line.  Free throws would play a major factor down the stretch as Prairie View made 10-of-13 free throws with Texas Southern going 13-of-24 from the line. 
 
Malcolm Riley and David Blanks would lead the Tigers in scoring with 12 points each.  Nick Shepard had a team high 13 rebounds.  The Tigers shot 31 percent from the field while struggling from beyond the arch shooting 2-of-18 from 3-point range. 
 
Texas Southern will look to bounce back as they take to the road to face the Grambling State Tigers February 14.