Top scorers SWAC went bucket for bucket Monday night in a game that went down to the wire.
Prairie View guard Tai’Reon Joseph had a game-high 32 points in an 89-85 win over Southern.
Joseph, a Baton Rouge native, scored the Panthers’ final seven points as the Panthers rallied late to win.
Michael Jacobs, the conference’s other leading scorer at 21 points per game, scored a career-high 30 points for the Jaguars in the loss.
The loss handed Southern (5-10, 1-1) its first loss in SWAC play. Prairie View (6-9, 1-1) shot 56.9% from the field to pick up its first win of the conference season.
“I was never comfortable with our defense all night,” South coach Kevin Johnson said Advocate said. “I thought our one-on-one defense was terrible. They got 70 points from three guys and I don’t think their run was anything special. It just came.
Joseph, who went to high school in Baton Rouge and led the SWAC in scoring with 23 points per game, had a night to remember in his hometown.
“Coach told me it’s your time. We need you to be the player you’ve been all year,” Joseph told the newspaper after the game.
