Trending Now - Prairie View A&M Panthers Secure First NCAA Tournament Victory

WHO:

Prairie View A&M Panthers basketball team

Lehigh Mountain Hawks basketball team

Coach Bryan Smith (Prairie View A&M)

Dontae Horne (Prairie View A&M)

Cory Wells (Prairie View A&M)

Lance Williams (Prairie View A&M)

Nasir Whitlock (Lehigh, Patriot League Tournament MVP)

Hank Alvey (Lehigh)

Brett Reed (Lehigh coach)

WHAT:

Prairie View A&M won its first NCAA Tournament victory, 67-55, over Lehigh.

Dontae Horne scored 25 points, Cory Wells scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds, and Lance Williams added 10 points.

Prairie View A&M has a record of 19-17 and has won eight straight games.

Lehigh's leading scorer, Nasir Whitlock, went scoreless for over 26 minutes and finished with five points on 2-of-15 shooting.

Hank Alvey led Lehigh with 23 points and 15 rebounds.

Prairie View A&M will face Florida, the top seed and defending national champion, in the first round.

WHERE:

Game held in Dayton, Ohio.

Prairie View A&M will play in Tampa, Florida.

WHEN:

Game took place on March 18th, 2026.

Prairie View A&M will play Florida on March 20th, 2026.

WHY:

Prairie View A&M advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the SWAC championship game against Southern, 72-66.

Lehigh won the Patriot League Tournament by defeating Boston University, 74-60.

HOW:

Horne, Wells, and Williams each played all 40 minutes of the game.

Prairie View A&M extended their lead to 51-41 with a jumper by Wells with 8:34 remaining in the game.

(UPDATED March 19, 2026 05:28 UTC)

In a historic moment for the Prairie View A&M Panthers, the team secured its first NCAA Tournament victory by defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 67 to 55 in Dayton, Ohio, on March 18. Leading the charge for Prairie View A&M were Dontae Horne with 25 points, Cory Wells who added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Lance Williams contributing 10 points, while Lehigh's Nasir Whitlock struggled, finishing with just five points after going scoreless for over 26 minutes. The Panthers, who have now won eight straight games and hold a record of 19-17, will face the top-seeded Florida Gators in Tampa on March 20.