Rob Gray (32) is leading the Cougars in scoring for the second consecutive season. | Ryan McCarble/The Daily Reveille
The men’s basketball team will try to get back in the win column Saturday as they welcome the Prairie View A&M Panthers to Hofheinz Pavilion for an afternoon matchup.
In their last outing, the Cougars broke their five-game winning streak after losing 84-65 to the Louisiana State University Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The loss brought the Cougars’ record to 5-1 on the season and 0-1 on the road.
The Panthers enter the contest at 2-5 and are losers of their last two games. Despite a subpar record, PVAMU has played one of the nation’s toughest schedules to this point with losses to No. 17 St. Mary’s, No. 16 Wisconsin and Oregon State.
The Cougars will have difficulty in trying to slow down junior forward Zachary Hamilton, who leads all scorers on the Panthers with 14 points per game.
PVAMU is a three-headed monster with Hamilton, senior guard Daquan Cook and junior guard L.J. Westbrook. Cook adds 12.3 points per contest in addition to Westbrook’s 10.1.
Junior guard Rob Gray again led the Cougars.
After leading the American Athletic Conference in scoring a year ago, Gray is following his league-leading performance with 18.8 points per game so far in 2016. He is taking high-percentage shots and is shooting .506 in his first six games.
Senior guard Damyean Dotson is lighting it up from three-point range this season. He is shooting .514 from three and is averaging 13.5 points per game in 2016.
An important part to the Cougars’ success early in the season has been their stifling defense. The Cougars are allowing opponents just 62.3 points per game, a mark that is good for 35th in the nation.
Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Hofheinz Pavilion.
