Hopefully, the Prairie View Panthers packed for an extended NCAA Tournament trip.
That’s because their postseason trip got extended after the Panthers dominated Lehigh in the second half of their First Four matchup, in which Prairie View came away with a 67-55 win in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday night. Prairie View, a 16th seed, advances to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where South Region No.1 seed and defending national champion Florida awaits in Tampa on Friday night.
The Panthers’ victory over the Mountain Hawks on Wednesday gives the program its first NCAA Tournament appearance and gives the SWAC its fifth First Four win.
“I believed in these guys from the very start,” said Prairie View coach Byron Smith, whose team improved to 19-17. “Great group of kids, they were raised right, and their parents did a great job of raising them, so tremendous resiliency. I knew we were going to get it going.”
“This means a lot. Coming into the summer when I hit the portal, a lot of people fell out because of my current grades, so I was kind of down and depressed. But being able to have a school that had faith in me means a lot to me because if they didn’t have faith in me, I wouldn’t be the player I am right now, and I wouldn’t be here today.”
Dontae Horne
After an inconsistent first half in which the Panthers trailed most of the first 20 minutes, they bounced back with an explosive second half led by leading scorer Dontae Horne and forward Corey Wells. The Panthers used their suffocating defense to limit the Mountain Hawks, forcing several turnovers that allowed Prairie View to take over.
“We didn’t score the ball very well early on, but we kept defending, and it gave us a chance,” said Smith, who has the Panthers in the NCAA for the first time since 2019 and his second time in 10 seasons on the job. “We knew in the second half that offense was going to pick up.”
Horne, who had several spectacular shots, scored 25 points on 11 of 22 shooting from the field while also adding seven rebounds and four steals in 40 minutes. But Wells was also huge, too, with 19 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, and four blocked shots on the defensive end. Additionally, Lance Williams contributed 0 points, four rebounds, and two blocks for the Panthers.
“I want to thank Corey Wells for keeping us in the game in the first half,” said Horne. “I kind of figured we were going to come out slow because we knew on the court, new balls, new rims, but I just had it in myself to stop talking to the refs and just go to the hole and just get it done.”
Prairie View, which is now on an eight-game winning streak, is one of the biggest surprises and one of the reasons this is called March Madness. The Panthers entered last week’s SWAC Tournament as an eighth seed and knocked off the No.1, No.5, and No.3 seeds for the improbable tournament win and a spot in the field of 68 NCAA Tournament teams.
This has also been a huge tournament for HBCUs so far, with three programs making the NCAA Tournament first round for the first time in 32 years, and now Howard, Tennessee State, and Prairie View making the 64-team field.
“For any program, it means a lot when you can win in the NCAA Tournament, but obviously, we are an HBCU. Just a proud moment,” said Smith, whose team came in as +3.5 underdogs to Lehigh. “My biggest thing is, hey, I’ve been around the block a little bit, as I told you guys the other day, being in the NCAA tournament as a player, as an assistant coach, and obviously as a head coach.
“But for me, to see these young men, the look on their face, the excitement, kind of a dream come true, because everybody grows up watching this tournament wanting to be a part of it. I’m just glad I was able to be here with them and share this moment with them because it’s definitely a happy time at Prairie View, for sure.”
