PRAIRIE VIEW – Senior guards PJ Henry and Jonathan Cisse scored 51 points as the Texas Southern Tigers defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers, 80-69, in their annual H-Town rivalry game.
Texas Southern entered the locker room at halftime with a 41-37 lead over Prairie View. The Tigers scored 62.9% from the floor compared to the Panthers' 39.3% in the first half.
Prairie View claimed a 43-41 lead at the start of the second half after burying two straight three-pointers.
The contest was a see-saw battle until the momentum swung in the Tigers' favor as their lead expanded to 70-52 with 8:14 on the clock.
The Panthers answered with an 11-0 run to trail 72-63 at the 3:52 mark.
In the final minutes, Johnny Jones' squad prevented a Prairie View comeback with a stingy defense to win 80-69 in hostile territory.
PJ Henry was the game's leading scorer with 26 points, and Jonathan Cisse added 25. Jahmar Young snatched 11 rebounds, and Kenny Hunter blocked a pair of Panthers' shots.
Charle Smtih IV posted 26 points, and Javonte Hopkins recorded 16 points and three rebounds in the loss for the Panthers.
Texas Southern is 6-3 in the SWAC, but Prairie View A&M drops to 3-5 in the conference.
Next Games: The Panthers have a back-to-back game hosting UAPB on Monday, Feb. 5. The Tigers travel to Tallahassee on Saturday, Feb. 10.
More must-reads: