Blackston's double-double helps PVAMU beat Southern 82-73

Jan 6, 2019, 04:11 am

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Gary Blackston had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Dennis Jones scored 11 with eight assists to help Prairie View A&M beat Southern 82-73 on Saturday night in the Southwestern Conference opener for both teams.

Chancellor Ellis scored 13 points, Devonte Patterson added 11 and Iwin Ellis 10 for PVAMU. The Panthers (3-11) have won two in a row following an 11-game skid.

Jones hit a 3-pointer to spark a 14-5 spurt that gave Prairie View a nine-point lead with seven minutes left in the first half and the Panthers used a 12-2 run over the final five minutes to take a 41-25 lead into the break. They stretched the advantage to 27 points before Blackston's 3 made it 71-46 with 6 1/2 minutes to go. Southern scored 19 of the next 23 points to trim its deficit to 75-67 with 1:33 remaining but got no closer.

Sidney Umude and Jayden Saddler scored 17 points apiece for the Jaguars (1-13). Southern has lost seven in a row.