ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Harris-Stowe State University men's basketball team was back in action tonight when they played host to the Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) University Trojans in an AMC matchup. The Hornets were defeated by the Trojans by a final score of 77-61 to fall to 1-4 on the season and 0-2 in the American Midwest Conference. With the win, the Trojans improve to 2-9 on the season and 1-2 in the AMC.
Harris-Stowe came out in the first half and took it to the Trojans early as they took a quick 8-0 lead in the three minutes of the game. The Hornets continued to push the tempo as the half progressed and were able to extend their lead to 30-14 midway through the half. However, their lead did not last long as the Trojans responded with a 20-2 run down the final stretch of the half to take a 34-32 lead into the locker room.
The Trojans carried over their momentum into the second half and quickly extended their lead to 11 in the first five minutes of the period. They shot the ball well as the half progressed and were able to grow their lead to as many as 25 late in the game. The Hornets did their best to get back into the game but their shots just were not falling as the Trojans cruised to the win.
Harris-Stowe had a tough time finding the bottom of the basket in this one as they went just 24-for-69 (34.78%) from the floor and 7-for-37 (18.92%) from behind the arc. They were outrebounded 42-33 and turned the ball over 15 times.
Riley Barnes led the way for the Hornets as he finished with a career high 19 points. In addition to Barnes, Nick McKenzie finished with 18 points and Jamarr Joseph finished with a team high eight rebounds to round out the top performers for Harris-Stowe.
The Hornets will return to the court on Thursday, January 14th when they play host to Williams Baptist (Ark.) University in an AMC matchup. The game is set to start at 7:30 p.m. in the Emerson Performance Center. No spectators will be allowed but live stats and video will be provided.
