The SWAC tournament’s quarterfinals saw a matchup between the 8 seed Mississippi Valley State and 1 seed Prairie View A&M. MVSU had a rough regular season winning just 2 games and losing 21. Meanwhile, Prairie View had a great season posting a 14-4 regular-season record. The two squads met earlier in the season on January 23rd, and Prairie View came away with a 77-31 victory.
Jawaun Daniels led Prairie View in scoring in the regular season averaging 14.6 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. Terry Collins led MVSU with 12.2 points per game and 5 rebounds per game. If MVSU wanted to pull off an upset, they would need to slow down Daniels and the Prairie View offense.
First half
The first half went just about as expected. Prairie View got out to a hot start and would not look back, MVSU struggled. Hot shooting helped Prairie View as they shot nearly 60% from the field in the first while MVSU shot only 26.5%. There was also a huge gap in rebounds as Prairie View grabbed 26 compared to MVSU’s 10. Between the hot shooting and rebounding advantage, Prairie View would take a 51-30 lead into halftime.
Prairie View’s leading scorer Daniels decided to make an impact in the quarterfinal matchup. Daniels would explode for 21 points in the first half against MVSU. The 21 points resulted from great shooting; Daniels made 8 of 11 first-half shots, including 3 three-pointers. Daniels would also grab 4 rebounds in the first.
Caleb Hunter led MVSU in the first; Hunter scored 12 points. Keiondre Jefferson would also add 9 first-half points. MVSU’s leading scorer on the season, Terry Collins, struggled in the first, scoring only 2 points on 1-5 shooting.
Second half
The second half was more of the same from Daniels and Prairie View. The shooting would calm down a bit, but it would not matter. MVSU did not give up but did not have enough left to make the second half competitive. No. 1 seed Prairie View was just too much for MVSU, and the final score reflects it, 91-64.
Daniels would build off his great first half, adding 15 more points to finish with 36. He would also grab 6 rebounds and dish out 3 assists. Daniels finished the game 13-19 from the field and 7-12 from the free-throw line. Junior guard Cam Mack would also add 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists to Prairie View’s win.
Although they lost by more than 20 points, MVSU did have 3 players finish in double-digits. Keiondre Jefferson with 13, Terry Collins with 14, and Caleb Hunter would lead the way with 17 points. Unfortunately, it just was not enough for MVSU. With the loss, MVSU’s rough season came to an end.
With the 91-64 victory in the quarterfinals, Prairie View will advance to the SWAC semifinals. In the semifinals, they will face the Southern and Grambling State matchup winner, whose game will be played on Thursday.
