ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Harris-Stowe State University men's basketball fell 97-88 to Philander Smith University on Wednesday night at Emerson Performance Center. With the loss, the Hornets fall to 0-2 on the season while the Panthers improve to 2-1 on the season.

The Hornets and Panthers would trade field goals early and often throughout the first several minutes. After a layup and a three from senior guard Seth Chargois (Tulsa, Okla./Johnson Community College) would have the Hornets up 8-6 early. A 10-2 run from the Panthers would put them ahead 16-10. After a layup from senior guard Bennie Amos III (New Orleans, La./Delgado Community College) and a three from Chargois the lead was cut to 16-15. Senior forward Jermarco Burse (Annapolis, Mo./Truman State University) would make a layup and a three to help the Hornets go up 20-18. The Panthers would go on an 8-0 run to go up 26-20. 

After a putback dunk from junior forward Ty Lampley (Belleville, Ill./Rend Lake Community College) and a layup by junior forward Jalen Watson (East St. Louis, Ill./St. Louis Community College) the lead was trimmed to 26-24. After each team would record field goals the Hornets trailed 33-29 before Chargois and senior guard Freddy Reeves Jr. (Minneapolis, Minn./Chardon State University) would tie the game at 33. After a four point play by Burse the Panthers lead 43-41. An 11-5 run by the Panthers would close the half and the Hornets would trail 54-46.

Reeves Jr. would cut the lead to 57-48 early in the second half. After a three by the Panthers Reeves Jr. would cut the lead to 59-51. The Panthers and Hornets would trade field goals and with just over 13 minutes left the Panthers led 67-58. A 10-0 run would put the Panthers up 77-58. The Hornets would chip away after a three from Burse, an old fashioned three point play from Reeves Jr., a layup from Lampley and a three from Chargois would cut the to 79-69 Panthers. After a Panthers layup, Reeves Jr. and two free throws from sophomore guard Justin Coleman (St. Louis, Mo./Delta State University) and three from Amos III would cut the lead to 85-77. The Hornets would cut the lead to 86-81 before the Panthers would close out the game on an 11-7 run. 

The Hornets would go 32-66 (48.5 percent) from the field, 12-22 (54.5 percent) from three, and 12-13 (92.3) at the free throw line. Reeves Jr. would go for a game-high 26 points, while Amos III added 18, Chargois added 15 and Burse added 12. Lampley would record a team-high eight rebounds, Amos III recorded seven assist. Reeves Jr. recorded three steals while Chargois recorded three blocks.

The Hornets are back in action on Saturday, November 2nd at Emerson Performance Center at 3 pm against Simmons College.