Prairie View A&M Falls to Florida 11-55, Exits NCAA Tournament as HBCU Heroes

HOUSTON -- Prairie View A&M fought the good fight in the 114-55 defeat against the top-seed and reigning national champions, the Florida Gators. While the Panthers struggled against a team that was bigger, faster, and more experienced than Florida, Coach Byron Smith remained encouraged.

“Yeah, tough game tonight for the Panthers,” Smith reflected. “Obviously, Florida’s size really caused problems for us. ... But I'm proud of my guys. We fought, we competed. Really, really proud of the season that we had."

Though heavy underdogs before the SWAC Tournament, the Panthers surged, winning five of their last six regular-season games with returnees like Dontae Horne, Lance Williams, Cory Wells, and Tai’Reon Joseph elevating their play.

Smith, Horne, and Williams made it clear in the postgame press conference that this season will be remembered for both adversity and incredible achievement.

Florida defeats Prairie View A&M, 111-55, in first round of NCAA Tournament. | CREDIT: NCAA, HBCU LEGENDS

A Night to Remember, Despite the Score

Facing a national powerhouse like Florida, with many returning champions, Prairie View faced an uphill battle from the start.

"We got down early and played from behind most of the night," Smith noted, emphasizing his pride in his team's grit and effort, which shone through despite the tough loss.

Learning from Losses, Celebrating Achievements

A recurring theme from both Coach Smith and his players was the idea that a single tournament loss doesn’t undo a season’s worth of success and growth.

Lance Williams addressed the emotional challenge head-on, acknowledging, “Yeah, this is a tough loss, tough way to end our season, but when you reflect on everything we went through this season, we had a lot of adversity. We still managed to accomplish a lot of great goals, like a SWAC championship.”

Dontae Horne echoed this, adding, "We still had a great season. We made history, went on an amazing run, and can’t overlook that. We’re glad we made it here. It’s a great story for our younger ones."

Despite a huge loss to the Gators, Prairie View showed heart and resilience throughout a historic season. Athletes celebrated winning a SWAC championship against rivals, earning MVP honors, setting new team records, and representing their university on a national stage. This historic run is a very significant accomplishment for Prairie View A&M University and HBCU sports.

What Went Wrong – And What Went Right

Coach Smith acknowledged tactical issues, noting the team started strong offensively but "got away from our offense, started playing too much one-on-one," allowing Florida’s size and experience to take over.

Earlier this season, Smith warned that straying from team play would lead to problems, and those problems resurfaced Friday night.

“They had 7 or 8 guys returning from a national championship team. So we knew that we were going to be... in for a tough task,” said Coach Smith.

Smith stayed positive after the season: “This is my 11th year. This is the best team, in my opinion, in this university’s history. I’m very proud. It was a remarkable year. Disappointed, but tomorrow is another day.”

PVAMU guard Dontae Horne meets with the media in postgame presser. | HBCU LEGENDS

The Future: NIL, Recruitment, and Building a Legacy

Asked about the future, Smith nodded to athletic director Anton Goff and said, “Our success this year means we’ll need resources to reload. We hope to attract student-athletes who match the quality of this team.”

Smith highlighted that his staff built this team with "No NIL at PV," as he revealed after beating Lehigh. Prairie View won the old-fashioned way on The Hill.

From the SWAC Tournament title to winning a First Four game and battling Florida, not one player had an NIL—but they had grit and heart.

Brighter days are ahead for Prairie View A&M men’s basketball, Smith assured.

Prairie View’s season inspires not just its program but all HBCUs and underdog teams. The Panthers’ journey was defined by overcoming adversity and reaching new heights, earning them legendary status.