GARLAND, Texas – Carl Blair scored 14 points to lead a balanced effort, and Prairie View A&M beat Alcorn State 67-59 on Thursday to advance to the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament semifinals.
Montrael Scott added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Panthers (14-18), and Ryan Gesiakowski also scored 13. Jules Montgomery had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Demondre Chapman chipped in 10 points.
Prairie View will face second-seeded Jackson State in Friday's semifinals.
The No. 3 seed Braves (10-24) got 19 points from LeAntwan Luckett and 12 from Anthony Nieves but shot just 35 percent from the floor and committed 18 turnovers. Prairie View didn't fare much better, shooting just 38 percent.
The Panthers took the lead for good, 31-29, on Montgomery's layup with 2:36 left in the first half and led by as many as 11 after halftime.
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