No. 8 Prairie View Delivers HBCU Tournament Shock at SWAC
March Madness arrived early in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). In one of the biggest surprises of the HBCU basketball postseason so far, No. 8 seed Prairie View A&M knocked off No. 1 seed Bethune-Cookman 71–67 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Panthers entered the tournament with a losing record at 15–17, but they are suddenly playing their best basketball of the season at exactly the right time. With the win at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, Prairie View has now won five straight games and advanced deeper into the conference bracket.
The victory also sends the SWAC’s regular-season champions home far earlier than expected.
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Prairie View’s Star Delivers Again
Prairie View guard Dontae Horne delivered another standout performance to fuel the HBCU upset. The veteran scorer poured in 30 points on an efficient 11-for-16 shooting performance while knocking down three three-pointers and adding five free throws.
Horne’s big night continued what has been a dominant stretch in the SWAC Tournament. Just one day earlier, he scored 26 points in Prairie View’s second-round win over Alcorn State.
He received plenty of support from forward Cory Wells, who added 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record a double-double and help control the paint for the Panthers.
Together, the duo helped Prairie View outscore Bethune-Cookman 39–35 in the second half after the two teams entered halftime tied at 32.
The game itself was tightly contested throughout. According to the official game summary, the HBCU hoops matchup featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes as neither side could create much separation until the closing minutes.
Wildcats Unable to Hold Off Surging Panthers
Bethune-Cookman entered the tournament as the SWAC’s top seed after finishing the regular season with a 14–4 conference record.
The Wildcats had previously defeated Prairie View A&M 82–76 during the regular season in February, but the Panthers flipped the script when the stakes were highest.
Bethune-Cookman guard Jakobi Heady led the Wildcats with 21 points and five rebounds, while Arterio Morris added 12 points and five assists in the loss.
Despite those efforts, the Wildcats struggled to slow Prairie View’s momentum, as the Panthers shot nearly 50 percent from the field and connected on eight three-pointers.
SWAC Tournament Chaos Continues
The result continues a growing trend of dramatic early-round upsets in the SWAC tournament.
Just one year ago, the 2025 tournament produced a similar shocker when No. 8 seed Grambling State stunned No. 1 seed Southern 65–62 in an overtime thriller during the quarterfinal round.
Now Prairie View has delivered another bracket-busting moment, eliminating the conference’s top seed and opening the door for a wide-open race to the SWAC championship.
For Prairie View A&M, the message is simple: the Panthers are peaking at the perfect time.
And after knocking off the tournament’s top seed, they may suddenly be the most dangerous team left in the field.