Braves Fall in SWAC Tournament to Prairie View A&M

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. – Jameel Morris scored 24 points Tuesday afternoon, but it was not enough as No. 11 seed Alcorn Men's Basketball fell to No. 8 seed Prairie View A&M 65-56 in the second round of the Pepsi Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament presented by Buick at The Gateway Center Arena.
 
Dontae Horne scored 18 points and Prairie View A&M (15-17) turned a halftime deficit into a commanding second-half performance, outscoring Alcorn 43-30 across the final period, advancing to the tournament quarterfinals.
 
Horne was the catalyst throughout the second period for the Panthers, finishing 5-of-12 from the field with a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. He buried a step-back three-pointer at the 15:37 mark to trim the Alcorn lead to three, then converted a fast-break layup moments later to spark a run that would ultimately flip the momentum for good. Horne also added three assists and eight rebounds.
 
Lance Williams contributed eight second-half points and three assists, while Cory Wells provided a key three-pointer with 2:55 remaining that pushed the PVAMU lead to eight and effectively sealed the outcome. Elijah Mitchell added five points and hauled down the decisive defensive boards in the closing minutes, capping the night with a fast-break dunk with 31 seconds left.
 
Jameel Morris scored 10 points in the opening period, and Alcorn (9-23) used a dominant early run to take a 26-22 lead over Prairie View A&M at halftime.
 
Morris, who shot 4-of-5 from the field in the opening period, repeatedly converted off turnovers and scored in transition to fuel the Braves' offense. Nick Woodard added seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, including a 1-of-3 mark from three-point range, while Omari Hamilton chipped in three points.
 
Alcorn came out of the gate on fire, racing to an 11-0 run to open the contest. Woodard scored the first seven points of the game, capping the spurt with a turnaround jumper in the paint. Morris then converted back-to-back buckets, including a pull-up jumper off a steal – to push the lead to 11 at the first media timeout.
 
Prairie View A&M slowly clawed back into the game, sparked by Williams with nine first half points. Dontae Horne added eight points, and the two combined to keep the Panthers within striking distance throughout the half. Williams knocked down a three-pointer at the 13:11 mark to begin the comeback, and Horne tied the game at 18-18 with a driving layup at the 3:16 mark – the only time the deficit was erased.
 
The Braves responded immediately.
 
Shane Lancaster drained a three-pointer with 2:46 remaining, and Morris converted two free throws shortly after to push the Braves' lead back to five. Hamilton then knocked down a three of his own off an offensive rebound with 1:10 left to give Alcorn a 26-20 advantage. Williams converted a second-chance layup in the closing seconds to trim the margin to four heading into halftime.
 
The Panthers owned the points in the paint by a 32-22 comparison, while Alcorn scored 10 points off seven PVAMU turnovers on the day. A limited bench for the Braves was highlighted due to injuries, with the Panthers owning a 13-2 advantage in bench points.
 
Prairie View A&M was led in scoring by a game-high 26 points from Horne, followed by 17 points from Williams.
Alcorn was sparked offensively by Morris with 25 points. Nick Woodard also finished in double-digits (10), adding six rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
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