FULTON, Mo. – Tonight the Harris-Stowe State University men's basketball team was back in action when they traveled to Fulton, Missouri, to take on the William Woods (Mo.) University Owls in the opening round of the 2021 AMC Men's Basketball Championships. The Hornets, who have won three of the last four AMC Men's Basketball Championships, were defeated by the Owls by a final score of 70-40 to fall to 1-9 on the season. With the win, the Owls will advance to play Lyon (Ark.) College in the quarterfinals of the AMC Men's Basketball Championships.

Harris-Stowe came out in the first half of the game and found themselves down 5-0 in the first three minutes of the period. They battled back over the next few minutes of the contest and were able to score seven straight points to take their first lead of the game. The teams exchanged baskets over their next few possessions but a 10-2 run from the Owls put them up 21-14 midway through the period. The Hornets answered back and were able to cut the lead to three, but another run from the Owls put them up 29-19 at the break.

Harris-Stowe struggled to score the ball to start the second and the Owls were able to grow their lead to 16 in the first two minutes of the half. The Hornets quickly cut the lead down to seven over the next few minutes, but a 9-2 run from the Owls pushed their lead back out to 17 with eight minutes to play in the game. The Hornets did their best to get back into the contest but their shots were not falling down the stretch as the Owls closed them out to advance to the quarterfinals of the AMC Men's Basketball Championships.

The Hornets had a difficult time scoring the ball tonight as they went just 16-for-60 (26.7%) from the floor and 4-for-26 (15.4%) from behind the arc. They were outrebounded 45-35 and turned the ball over 14 times while picking up nine steals.

Isaiah Dicks led the way for the Hornets as he finished with a season high 10 points while pulling down five rebounds. To go along with Dicks, Riley Barnes finished with 10 points, Marquis Peppers finished with a team high four assists, and David Spell grabbed six rebounds to round out the top performers for the Hornets.

This marks the conclusion of the 2020-21 Harris-Stowe men's basketball season. The Hornets finished the season with a 1-9 overall record and a 0-6 record in the American Midwest Conference. The men's basketball team will return to the court in the fall.