Nov. 17, 2009

Final stats

CINCINNATI - The Prairie View A&M men's basketball team put together a valiant fight but fell short of the upset as the University of Cincinnati rallied in the second half to claim a 69-62 win at Fifth Third Arena on Monday evening.

The Panthers (1-1) stormed out of the gates as they led 15-3 with 15:39 remaining in the first half. Cincinnati closed to within six points three minutes later but the Panthers once again kept their foot on the gas pedal as a trey by junior Duwan Kornegay gave Prairie View a 33-18 lead at the 5:11 mark. Once again, the Bearcats fought back and trimmed its deficit to six as the stanza came to a close but Kornegay nailed a jumper with three seconds left in the half to send the Panthers into the locker room with a 38-30 halftime advantage.

Prairie View moved ahead by double digits (46-36) once again after Christopher Jones' lay-up with 16:37 left in the second half. However, the roles reversed from that point as Cincinnati went on a 21-2 run over the next 10 minutes to move on top 57-48. The Bearcats continued to lead by nine up until 50 seconds remaining when Jones cut Prairie View's deficit to 66-59 following a lay-up. UC's Rashad Bishop made 1-of-2 free throws for an eight-point margin but Prairie View continued to fight as Kornegay drained a three-pointer with 33 seconds left to bring the score to 67-62.

Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson missed two free throws with 32 seconds left and gave Prairie View a shot at making it a one possession game. Unfortunately, Tarrence Garrison's jumper fell short with 16 ticks left and Stephenson connected on two free throws following the miss to secure the win for the Bearcats.

Five players scored in double digits for the Panthers led by Hugee's 16 points. Dorian McDaniel, Michael Griffin and Kornegay chipped in with 11 each while Jones had an all-around performance with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Panthers return to the court on Thursday evening with a home match-up against Florida Gulf Coast University at 7 p.m. in the William Nicks Building.

BULLDOGS EDGE OAKWOOD, 86-81

Final stats

Four players recorded double figures as the Alabama A&M men's basketball team edged the Ambassadors of Oakwood University 86-81 at Elmore Gym on Monday night. Maurice Kemp scored a team-high 19 points in 16 minutes of action off the bench for the Bulldogs. Marcus Lee and Cornelius Hester had 14 points apiece, while Bo Amusa finished with 12. Amusa also pulled down nine off the glass. Casey Cantey chipped in with nine points. A&M is back in action on Nov. 21 when it hosts Martin Methodist for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

The Bulldogs led 80-70 with three minutes left in regulation. The Ambassadors scored 10 unanswered to tie it at 80-80 with :55 showing on the clock. A pair at the stripe by Amusa put A&M up by two, but a free throw by Landon Bertram brought it to within one, 82-81 with 20 seconds left. Four straight points by the Bulldogs in the remaining seconds sealed the win for A&M. With the victory, the Bulldogs improve to 1-1 on the season.

For the game, the Ambassadors were led by Bertram's game-high 24 points and 17 rebounds. Ronald Bushner scored with 17. Brandon Broome and Kareem Telesford finished with 12.

A&M held a 48-36 advantage in the paint. Both teams were even on the boards with 49.

In the first half, A&M rattled off five straight in the first minute of play off a pair at the stripe and a trey by Lee. A basket by Bushner at the 19:04 mark put the Ambassadors on the scoreboard. Oakwood cut it to one, 11-10, at 15:28, but the Bulldogs went on an 11-2 run over a two-plus span to take a 23-12 advantage - its largest of the game - with just over 13 minutes remaining in the half. The Ambassadors sliced into the deficit and brought themselves to within four, 37-33, at the six minute mark. The Bulldogs used four unanswered points to pushed the spread to eight, however. Oakwood responded with an 8-4 run to end the half, but A&M went into the lockerroom with a 45-41 margin.

Hester led all scorers at the half with 14 points off the bench. Kemp and Lee scored 11 and 10, respectively. A&M went 16-for-37 (43.2 percent) and held Oakwood to a 38.9 shooting clip.

The Bulldogs are back in action on next Monday Nov. 21 at home. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m.

BAMA STATE DROPS SEASON OPENER AT OLE MISS

Final stats

OXFORD, Miss. - The Alabama State University men's basketball team dropped a 90-53 decision in its season opener Monday against Ole Miss at Tad Smith Coliseum.

Alabama State's Chris Duncan pressures Ole Miss' Terrico White

Senior Menji Mundadi scored 13 points to lead the Hornets (0-1), who struggled to find an offensive flow shooting just 28 percent (18-63) from the field for the game. The Rebels (2-0) placed four players in double figures including a game-high 19 by Terrico White.

The Hornets, who will play three Southeastern Conference squads this season, slipped to 0-6 all-time versus the Rebels.

Ole Miss broke open a closely contested early first half with an 8-0 run giving the Rebels a 15-8 lead. During the run, Bama State struggled on the offensive end going scoreless for just over five minutes of play.

The Hornets continued to battle before a 19-7 surge by UM over the closing six minutes of the period sent the home squad into the halftime break with a 43-24 advantage. Mundadi accounted for all of ASU's points during the final stretch, as the Hornets finished the first half shooting just 25 percent (8-31) from the floor including an 0-7 performance from the three-point line.

An energized ASU squad made a charge to start the second half. Jeffery Middlebrooks drained back-to-back three-pointers, followed by a runner in the lane by Byron Walker. Mundadi then hit two straight treys cutting the deficit to 52-38 with 14:29 remaining on the clock.

The Rebels responded scoring 13 of the next 16 points to regain control of the momentum with six different Ole Miss players tallying points in the run. Alabama State could not get any closer as UM closed the game with a 19-6 run.

ASU were outrebounded by just one board, 46-45, by a much taller Rebel squad. Ivory White paced the Hornets with nine rebounds followed by seven from Bryon Walker. Ole Miss recorded 10 blocked shots in the game getting five by Reginald Buckner and also turned 22 Bama State turnovers into 27 points.

Alabama State continues its season-opening road swing Friday at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. The Hornets regular season home opener is set for Nov. 24 against Columbus State.