PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas | The Grambling State University men's basketball team trailed by 11 and went cold from the floor during a seven-minute stretch as the Tigers dropped a heartbreaker, 71-70, to Prairie View A&M in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Monday night at the William J. Nicks Babydome.
Grambling State (10-15 overall, 8-5 SWAC) trailed 62-51 with 5:06 remaining and fought their way back to the bitter end before falling at Prairie View A&M for the fourth straight time. The last time GSU won in Prairie View, Texas was in 2018.
Shawndarius Cowart paced Grambling State with 20 points, including 11-of-13 from the foul line, with three rebounds and two assists. Tra'Michael Moton recorded 16 points, five assists, four boards and three steals, while AJ Taylor poured in 11 points and eight boards. Prince Moss added 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
William Douglas led Prairie View A&M (6-15, 6-7) with 23 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots. Jeremiah Gambrell registered 17 points, three assists and one board, while DeWayne Cox added 14 points, four boards, three steals and one assist. Jawaun Daniels tallied a double-double of 12 points and 12 boards, along with five assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Grambling State jumped out to a 10-3 advantage after a Shawndarius Cowart three-point play with just over 14 minutes left in the opening half
- Prairie View A&M battled back, using an 8-2 run over the next six minutes to trim the deficit to 12-11
- The Panthers grabbed a 16-15 lead after a free throw by DeWayne Cox, but a Tra'Michael Moton 3-pointer gave GSU an 18-16 advantage with 6:17 remaining
- An AJ Taylor fastbreak layup gave Grambling State a 26-20 lead with 3:21 left
- The Panthers answered as Jeremiah Gambrell drained a long 3-pointer, tying the game at 30 with 25 seconds remaining in the half
- Both teams found the offensive shooting touch in the second half as GSU held a slim 40-39 advantage after a layup by Tra'Michael Moton with 15:15 left
- Prairie View A&M went on a 7-3 run over the next three minutes to take a 46-43 advantage with just under 13 minutes to play
- The Tigers rallied and tied the game at 48 after a Moton trey with 11:35 remaining
- The Panthers took advantage of an intentional foul, using an 8-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Cox, to take a 56-48 lead with just over eight minutes left
- Grambling State went cold from the floor, going more than seven minutes without a bucket, as Prairie View A&M continued to build upon its lead, taking a 62-51 advantage with 5:22 remaining
- The Tigers slowly trimmed the deficit to 62-55 after a pair free throws by Cowart with 3:59 to play
- Back-to-back dunks by Prince Moss and a 3-pointer by Cameron Christon cut the margin to 64-62 with 2:47 remaining
- A thunderous dunk by Daniels pushed the advantage to 68-64 with 1:50 left
- The Panthers got a putback bucket by Douglas to give PVAMU a 70-66 lead with 10 seconds left
- After a technical foul on Prairie View A&M head coach Byron Smith, Cowart sank a pair at the charity stripe, cutting the deficit to 70-68 with six seconds remaining
- Douglas went to the free-throw line with an opportunity to seal the game with six seconds left and went 1-of-2, but Cowart drove the lane and his shot banked off the backboard as Taylor scored on the putback as time expired
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Grambling State shot 40.0 percent (24-of-60) from the field and 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the free-throw line
- Shawndarius Cowart poured in 20 points, three rebounds and two assists
- Tra'Michael Moton registered 16 points, five assists, four boards and three steals
- AJ Taylor tallied 11 points and eight boards
- Prince Moss added 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal
- Grambling State finished with 34 points in the paint, 26 bench points, 17 points off 17 PVAMU turnovers, 12 fastbreak points and 10 second-chance points
- Prairie View A&M shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field and 63.9 percent (23-of-36) from the charity stripe
- Williams Douglas registered 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots
- Jeremiah Gambrell poured in 17 points, three assists and one board
- DeWayne Cox chipped in 14 points, four boards, three steals and one assist
- Jawaun Daniels posted a double-double of 12 points and 12 boards, with five assists
- The Panthers finished with 20 points in the paint, 19 fastbreak points, 15 second-chance points, 13 points off 16 GSU turnovers and five bench points
SWAC STANDINGS
- Grambling State entered the night in a three-way tie for second with Florida A&M and Alcorn State.
- The Tigers sit one game-back in the standings of SWAC leaders Texas Southern and Southern
- Texas Southern holds the tiebreaker over Grambling State by virtue of a season sweep
UP NEXT
Grambling State wraps up its three-game road swing on Saturday at rival Southern. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
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