It’s SWAC Championship Saturday with the #3 Southern University vs #8 Prairie View A&M Men’s Basketball game. Southern University fans expected their team to match the intensity Prairie View A&M played with at the beginning of the game. The Jaguars found themselves down by as many as 22 points early in the second half because of their slow start. Before anyone says the Jaguars were fatigued from their matchup against Florida A&M in their previous game, which was the cause for them losing the Championship matchup 72-66? Prairie View A&M Men’s basketball team is the first in SWAC history to win three games plus the Championship game.
When the Jaguars looked to have figured things out against Prairie View A&M, they went on a 10-0 run, only for Prairie View A&M to answer with a 10-0 run of their own. The Jaguars were able to go on another scoring cut, Prairie View A&M’s lead was down to 6 points after the Panthers went on a 5-minute scoring drought late in the game. The Panthers leaned on their defense to prevent Southern University from tying the game with the possibility to take the lead. PVAMU Panthers Defensive Player of the SWAC Tournament, Cory Wells, scored 16 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and added 4 blocks. The Most Valuable Player of the 2026 SWAC Tournament, Dontae Horne, made defensive stops at the right times during the game. Dontae Horne’s all-around game was on display, leading the team with 4 steals, 1 block, 15 points, and 5 assists. Horne’s leadership ability in this game showed why he was named to the All-SWAC First team, averaging 19.7 points per game while averaging 44.9% shooting from the field. The Panthers had two other players who scored double digits. Lance Williams led all scorers with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Tai’Reon Joseph scored 10 points.
Read More: Lady Jaguars Secure Back-to-Back SWAC Titles
Despite rallying to keep the game close, Southern University wasn’t able to execute late in the game. The Jaguars were able to cut the Panthers’ lead to two points with 24 seconds left in the game. Prairie View A&M Dontae Horne was able to score the Panthers’ last 4 points to extend their lead to 6 points after the Jaguars missed a layup, and with 4 seconds left in the game, a three-pointer that would seal their fate, and the #8 seed Prairie View A&M would win the 2025-2026 SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament, 72-66.
The Jaguars had three players score double digits in the game. Michael Jacobs led all Jaguars players with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. AJ Barnes scored 18 points, adding 10 rebounds, and Cam Amboree scored 10 points with 3 rebounds. This marks the 3rd Men’s Basketball SWAC Championships for Prairie View A&M (1998, 2019, 2026) with Head Coach Smith leading the Panthers to their second under his leadership. The Panthers play Lehigh University in the play-in round of the NCAA Tournament.