Prairie View A&M cruised to a decisive victory over Lehigh, 67-55, in the First Four tournament on Wednesday night. They now join Howard University—which won its First Four matchup against UMBC on Tuesday night—and Tennessee State as the only HBCUs represented in the official field of 64.

The Panthers continue their tremendous run to the March Madness tournament after winning four games in four straight days to ultimately win the SWAC championship. Their stick-to-itiveness and uncanny ability to win the war of attrition ultimately helped the Panthers beat the Mountain Hawks.

Lehigh put up a good fight to start the game. They seized an early lead and managed to build a 29-27 advantage heading into halftime. But Prairie View A&M came out of the locker room determined to change the tide in the game, ultimately securing the 67-55 win.

Dontae Horne played 40 minutes and scored 25 points, nabbed 7 rebounds, and had 4 steals with a block. He was assisted by Corey Wells, who also played 40 minutes and scored 19 points while grabbing 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, as well as Lance Williams, who joined his other two teammates by playing 40 minutes and contributed 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

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For Lehigh, the only double-digit scorer was Hank Alvey, who scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in 36 minutes of play. Edouard Benoit and Andrew Urosevic finished with 8 points respectively. Prairie View A&M's plus-seven advantage in steals and 34 paint points ultimately helped them secure the victory. But now they face the juggernaut of the South region: top-ranked Florida.

The Gators won the national championship in 2025, clinching their first since 2007 and their third in school history, beating Houston. This year, they appear poised to repeat as champions, finishing the season with a 26-7 overall record and a 6-2 conference record.

While they had an impressive regular season, they ultimately were eliminated from the SEC tournament by Vanderbilt, 91-74. After finishing the SEC tournament with a loss, Florida will be motivated for a decisive victory over Prairie View A&M to jumpstart their repeat bid.

But the Panthers have proven that they're willing to defy the odds, which leads to an interesting first-round matchup.