ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Harris-Stowe State University men's basketball team was back in action this evening when they played host to the Williams Baptist (Ark.) University Eagles in an AMC matchup. The Hornets were defeated by the Eagles by a final score of 66-49 to fall to 1-5 on the season and 0-3 in the American Midwest Conference. With the win, the Eagles improve to 5-5 on the season and 3-1 in the AMC.

The Hornets came out in the first half and were firing on all cylinders as they jumped out to an early 16-7 lead in the first seven minutes of the game. They played tough defense throughout the half and were able to extend their lead to as many as 21 with just under eight minutes to play in the period. Despite being down, the Eagles battled back and were able to end the half on an 18-4 run to cut the Hornets lead to 32-25 at the break.

The Eagles carried over their momentum into the second half and went on a 11-2 run in the first five minutes of the period to take a 36-34 lead. The game went back-and-forth over the next couple of minutes but a 12-0 run from the Eagles put them up 12 with seven minutes to play in the game. The Hornets had a tough time getting anything going down the final stretch and the Eagles were able to close out the game to pick up their third conference win of the year.

Harris-Stowe had a tough time scoring the ball in this one as they went just 17-for-53 (32.08%) from the floor and 27-for-58 (46.55%) from behind the arc. They were outrebounded 45-24 but forced the Eagles to turn the ball over 16 times.

Nick McKenzie led the way for the Hornets as he finished with a game high 16 points. In addition to McKenzie, David Spell finished with a team high 11 rebounds, Riley Barnes finished with 12 points, and Joe Lewis finished with a team high four assists to round out the top performers for the Hornets.

The Hornets will return to the court on Saturday, January 16^th when they travel to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Columbia (Mo.) College Cougars in an AMC matchup. The game is set to tip-off at 3 p.m. No spectators will be allowed at the game but live stats and video will be provided.