Harris-Stowe State University

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Harris-Stowe State University men's basketball picked up an 86-76 win on Friday night against Saint Xavier University at Emerson Performance Center. With the win, the Hornets improve to 2-0 while the Cougars fall to 0-1 on the season.

Senior guard Umar Lawson (Sumter, S.C./Voorhees University) cut the Cougars lead to 4-2 with a layup. Two free throws from Lawson cut the deficit to 9-4. A layup from Lawson cut the deficit to 9-6. A jumper from Lawson and a layup from senior guard Adolphus Cast III (Detroit, Mich./Schoolcraft College) cut the deficit to 12-10. A 9-0 Cougars run extended their lead to 21-10. A layup from redshirt sophomore forward Nashawn Davis (St. Louis, Mo./Columbia College) cut the deficit to 21-12. A layup from Davis cut the deficit to 24-15 with just over eight minutes to play in the first half. Two free throws from senior center Greg Wilson (Kansas City, Kan./Voorhees University) cut the Cougars lead to 26-17. A layup from Lawson cut the deficit to 27-19. The Hornets used a 13-0 run that saw Davis score seven points and Lawson score six points to turn a 29-19 deficit into a 32-29 lead before holding a 32-31 lead at halftime.

A layup from senior forward Benjamin Rumanyika (Buckeye, Ariz./Voorhees University) and a layup from Davis gave the Hornets a 36-33 lead early in the second half. A dunk from Davis tied the game at 40. A jumper from freshman guard Joseph Riggins (Los Angeles, Calif.) gave the Hornets a 42-40 lead. Two free throws from Riggins tied the game at 44. A jumper from Riggins and a layup from Davis gave the Hornets a 50-49 lead. A three from Riggins, a layup from Davis and two free throws from Cast III made it 62-53 in favor of the Hornets. A three from Riggins made it 65-56. Junior guard Joshua Thornton (Kansas City, Mo./Labette CC) made jumpers on back-to-back possessions to make it 69-60 Hornets. A jumper and free throw from junior guard Antonio Trotter (Nashville, Tenn./Williams Baptist University) extended the Hornets lead to 72-62. A layup from Lawson extended the lead to 77-68 with just over two minutes to play. Two free throws from Lawson and Trotter would help close out the Hornets 86-76 win.

Davis led the way with 27 points while Lawson added 20 points and Riggins added a career-high 17 points, in which all 17 came in the second half. Davis and Wilson had five rebounds each. Lawson, Cast III, junior guard Terrance Johnson (San Antonio, Texas/Northwest Kansas Tech) and junior guard Cinco McNeal (Las Vegas, Nev./Peninsula College) all recorded two assists. Davis, Riggins and Trotter all had three steals.

The Hornets went 31-57 (54.4%) from the field, 3-14 (21.4%) from three and 21-31 (67.7%) from the free throw line.

The Hornets return to action on Tuesday, November 3rd at 7 pm at Central Bible University in Moberly, Mo.