ATLANTA, Ga. | The Alabama A&M University men's basketball team could not recover from an early first-half run by Prairie View A&M as the Panthers rolled into the 2026 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game with a 74-55 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday afternoon at the Gateway Center Arena.
Prairie View A&M (17-17) advances to Saturday's title game and will meet the winner of Florida A&M and Southern, while Alabama A&M, which was seeking an opportunity play in the championship game for the first time since 2005, concludes the season at 18-15.
FIRST HALF
Prairie View A&M struck first, but Alabama A&M quickly responded as James Graham III opened the scoring with a jumper to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead early in the contest. Moments later,
Sami Pissis knocked down a three-pointer and P.J. Eason converted a second-chance layup as Alabama A&M built a 9-5 advantage in the opening minutes.
Prairie View A&M answered behind Dontae Horne, who converted a fast-break layup following a turnover to trim the deficit. After the Bulldogs extended the lead to 13-7 on a hook shot from
James Flippin with 14:30 remaining in the half, the Panthers began to seize control.
Prairie View A&M tied the game at 14-14 midway through the period following free throws by Louis Hutchinson, before taking the lead for good when Cory Wells scored inside to make it 21-19 with 8:13 left in the half.
The Panthers continued to build momentum down the stretch. A three-pointer from Wells pushed the lead to nine, and Prairie View closed the half on a 16-2 run, capped by back-to-back baskets from Horne in the final minute to give the Panthers a 36-21 advantage at the break.
SECOND HALF
Prairie View A&M continued its run early in the second half, extending the lead to 46-22 following consecutive scores by Horne, including a driving layup with 16:31 remaining.
Alabama A&M attempted to respond midway through the half.
Angok Anyang scored on a put-back and
Koron Davis followed with a fast-break dunk after a steal to cut the deficit to 46-29 with 11:47 left.
The Bulldogs continued to chip away as Graham caught fire from beyond the arc. The senior knocked down three second-half three-pointers, trimming the margin to 58-42 with just over four minutes to play.
However, Prairie View A&M answered each rally attempt at the free-throw line. Lance Williams converted several key free throws and added a driving layup to keep the Panthers comfortably in front down the stretch.
A late basket by
Kintavious Dozier closed the scoring as Prairie View A&M secured the 74-55 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- James Graham III led Alabama A&M with 18 points, including four three-pointers in the second half.
- Kintavious Dozier added 12 points and six rebounds.
- Prairie View A&M was led by Dontae Horne's 25 points, while Cory Wells (20) and Lance Williams (18) also reached double figures.
- The Panthers shot 52 percent from the field compared to 33 percent for Alabama A&M.
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