DAYTON, Ohio (Interstat) — Two teams riding late-season surges will meet with their seasons on the line when the Prairie View A&M Panthers face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in a men’s NCAA Division I playoff game Wednesday at University of Dayton Arena.

Both teams enter with identical 18-win records, with Prairie View at 18-17 and Lehigh at 18-16. The Mountain Hawks have been installed as a 2.5-point favorite, with an over/under of 146.5 points.

The Panthers arrive having won eight of their last nine games, including a 72-66 road victory at Southern on Saturday. Guard Lance Williams has been the engine, averaging 14.3 points and 4.2 assists over his last 10 contests. He scored 18 points with five assists in the win over Southern, flanked by Dontae Horne (15 points) and Cory Wells (16 points, three blocks).

Lehigh counters with its own dynamic guard in Nasir Whitlock, who has been on a scoring tear. Over his last seven games, Whitlock is averaging 24.1 points and 5.1 assists, including a 32-point, seven-assist performance against Bucknell and a 29-point outing against Holy Cross. He led the Mountain Hawks with 18 points and four assists in their most recent win, a 74-60 victory over Boston University on March 11.

The matchup pits Prairie View’s recent road resilience — six of their eight recent wins came away from home — against a Lehigh squad that has won six of its last seven, mostly on its home floor. The neutral court in Dayton will test both teams’ adaptability.

The winner will advance to face Florida on Friday in Tampa. For now, the focus is on a single-elimination showdown where hot guards and momentum will collide under the postseason lights.