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Final Score: Prairie View A & M 67, Lehigh 55.
The Panthers earn its first ever NCAA Tournament victory, scoring 14 more points and dominating defensively in the second half. This game came down to the activity of the Panthers, who made Lehigh center Hank Alvey score an uncomfortable 23 points and forced six turnovers from the big man. Prairie View A & M had 12 (!) steals on the night. The Panthers shut down the Mountain Hawks' leading scorer Nasir Whitlock, who just had 5 points total (all in the second half), with Lance Williams playing great defense. Lehigh shot horribly from deep all night and did not have guard play capable of penetrating the PV A & M defense. Offensively, Dontae Horne scores 14 of his 25 points in the second half, getting whatever he wanted. The Panthers only took three threes in the second half, focusing upon the mid-range with Horne, Williams and Cory Wells, who adds an impressive 19 and 11 for the Panthers. Honestly, Bryan Smith and the Panthers' coaching staff had a great game plan, swarming all of Alvey's post touches. This was a scouting and execution victory for the Panthers. Lehigh did not get away from going to Alvey and would have been wise to try and run some offense for Whitlock to get going during the second half. Up next for the Panthers is Florida Friday night in Tampa. Make the jump to see the final stats and read the live running reactions.
Final Live Reactions
Timeout Lehigh after an Alvey dunk. Prairie View A & M leads 64-52 with 45.6 seconds remaining.
Lehigh is challenging an out-of-bounds call with 54.4 seconds remaining. PV A&M leads 64-51. Panthers' reserve big man Hassane Diallo has been huge in this stretch with an offensive tip in and three-point play at the rim. Lehigh wins the challenge.
Second Half, Under-4 Live Reactions
Timeout PV A & M. The Panthers lead 57-46 with 3:53 remaining. Horne responds to a Whitlock layup with a layup of his own. The Panthers held Lehigh scoreless for 3:46 before Whitlock's lay in. This game feels over, due to the Panthers' defensive activity. During this stretch, they forced a shot-clock violation and got possession on a tie up. Alvey has 6 turnovers against the swarming pressure. Lehigh has 10 turnovers this half. Horne and Williams can get a shot whenever they want.
Second Half, Under-8 Live Reactions
PV A & M leads 51-44 with 7:24 remaining. Lehigh gets a big three from Joshua Ingram to break a three-minute plus scoring drought. The Panthers have gone a bit too much to iso ball with Horne forcing a bad shot last possession. Still, the Panthers activity has been the key in this game, along with having more dynamic guards off the bounce. Lehigh's guards cannot get to the rim. Defensively, Lehigh is continuing to swarm. On one possession, the Panthers blocked Benoit and then stole the ball from Alvey.
Timeout Lehigh. Prairie View A & M leads 51-41 with 8:37 remaining.
Second Half, Under-12 Live Reactions
Prairie View A & M leads 47-41 with 10:27 remaining. Horne is really starting to cook for the Panthers, scoring eight points during this stretch. He is getting the ball and using his jab step game to get and hit open shots. Alvey had eight points during this stretch for Lehigh, which finally saw Whitlock hit a three. While Alvey is starting to pick up fouls on PV A & M, the Panthers are doing a good job of throwing doubles at the big man, who is not a quick enough passer. Here's a symbol of which team is more active. The smaller Panthers have 5 blocks, Lehigh 0. The Panthers have 9 steals, Lehigh 4.
Second Half, Under-16 Live Reactions
Prairie View A & M leads 37-33 with 15:23 remaining. Whitlock just had a shot blocked after a forced attack to the rim. He still hasn't scored and is 0-for-9 from the field. The pace is favoring the Panthers, who are making this a junker of a game, collapsing every time Alvey gets the ball in the post and daring Lehigh to hit a three. Benoit finally hit one for the Mountain Hawks, which are still only 4-15 from deep. Give credit to Wells and grad guard Lance Williams, who have come out aggressive for the Panthers.
Timeout Lehigh. Prairie View A & M leads 35-30 with 17:05 remaining. The Panthers are the more active team, getting the ball into the mid-range game (inside the free throw line) and attacking the rim. Lehigh is continuing to run everything through Alvey. Whitlock has not gotten a shot and had a bad turnover on a lazy pass trying to feed Alvey. Great job by the Panthers throwing a 2-2-1 press against the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh's offense is too methodical. PV A &M is swarming on defense and getting the ball into the paint off the bounce with their more dynamic/athletic guards.
Halftime Adjustments/Thoughts
While Prairie View A & M is the smaller and more active team, Lehigh has gotten a lot of open looks out of the post. However, the Mountain Hawks are 3/13 from three (23.1%). Expect Head Coach Brett Reed to run a play for Whitlock out of the half to try and get the team's leading scorer on the board. Prairie View A & M doesn't run the greatest offense, but the Panthers have been able to get to the rim at will. The Panthers have matched Lehigh with 12 points in the paint. Dontae Horn leads the Panthers with 9 points and needs to stay under control while attacking the basket. Cory Wells also has 9 points for the Panthers. Can the Panthers avoid the scoreless droughts on offense and junk up this game with continued activity on defense? Can Lehigh get some outside shots to fall? This game could come down to which star, Horne or Whitlock, has the more impactful second half! Alvey leads Leihgh with 10 points, though Prairie View A & M should live with this as Alvey is not the smoothest and quickest decision maker. Prairie View A & M is doing a good job on the boards considering the height difference, behind by only two total rebounds in the game. Fouls are not an issue for either team so far.
Halftime
Lehigh leads 29-27 at the half. The Panthers had a chance to tie the game out of a timeout but missed a shot. Whitlock misses a forced layup at the half and is scoreless (he is the Mountain Hawks leading scorer). Give credit to Prairie View A & M head coach Byron Smith. He mixed up some zones in the last four minutes. In short, the Panthers are the more active defensive team but not as disciplined on offense. Lehigh is the more disciplined team overall but is missing a lot of shots.
Timeout Lehigh. Lehigh leads 27-25 with 1:30 remaining. Whitlock is 0-for-7 from the field for the Mountain Hawks. An Alvey push shot broke a three-minute drought. Prairie View A & M is hanging in somehow, with Wells (9 points) keeping the Panthers in the game. Alvey has 8 and 8 for Lehigh, which should be up more. Just when Prairie View A & M seems to be in trouble, the Panthers get to the rim.
First Half, Under-4 Live Reactions
Lehigh leads 25-21 with 3:58 remaining. This was an ugly stretch for both teams, with Lehigh scoring just two points and Prairie View A & M just three (on a Cory Wells three) that broke a near three-minute scoring drought. The Panthers have had two scoring droughts of almost three minutes so far. The Panthers missed three shots at the rim during this stretch, including an alley-oop pass that was shot over a player's head. Lehigh is throwing up its fair share of bricks.
First Half, Under-8 Live Reactions
Lehigh Leads 23-18 with 6:58 remaining. Lehigh is taking control of this game, specifically on the offensive glass (a 6 to 2 advantage). Reserve guard Andrew Urosevic has 8 points in the stretch (two threes and nice jumper off the bounce. Lehigh continues to try to feel Alvey, who is very slow with his decision making. Prairie View A&M's offense is devolving into too much hero ball. Lehigh seems to be the more disciplined offensive team. The lead would be bigger if the Mountain Hawks were better from three (3-for-10 so far).
First Half, Under-12 Live Reactions
Game is tied at 11 with 11:18 remaining. It has been a game of mini-"runs." PV A&M took an 11-7 lead before Lehigh scored the next four points. PV A&M is a bit rushed on offense, with too much hero ball. The Panthers are trying to get to the rack but overdribbling and forcing at points. Lehigh is the more disciplined offensive team, trying to get the ball in the post. Lehigh's Nasir Whitlock has started the game 0-for-4 from the field. The game is pretty even in rebounding (8 for PV A&M, 7 for Lehigh) and is equal in points in the paint (with 6 each).
First Half, Under-16 Live Reactions
Game is tied at 7 with 15:38 remaining. It's been a bit of a sloppy fist four minutes. Prairie View A&M jumped out to a 5-0 lead, hitting its first two shots. Lehigh responded with seven straight points. It is clear that Lehigh wants to feed the post, going to big man Hank Alvey (2 points) several times in the post. PV A&M is doing a good job swarming Alvey, who needs to be quicker with his decision making. Edouard Benoit leads Lehigh with 5 points (on a three and a post up) while PV A&M's Dontae Horne has five points himself (on a three and banker off a broken possession).
Pregame Prediction: Toss Up
Prairie View A &M and Lehigh are both barely over .500, so this game seems like it will be another close First Four game of smaller schools. Like last night, your guess is as good as mine. Last night I flipped a quarter three times, with UMBC ending up on top. Of course, Howard won. With that said, let's do the coin flip again, this time, the best 3 out of 5. Prairie View A & M will be heads. Leigh will be tails. Flip #1: Heads (Prairie View A & M). Flip #2: Heads (Prairie View A & M). Flip #3: Heads (Prairie View A & M). There it is. Prairie View A & M will win, apparently in a blowout. Of course, that means Lehigh will win. We shall see! The winner gets the defending national champion and #1 seed (#4 overall) Florida Gators on Friday.
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