Eagles Fall to Hornets in AMC Opener

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (11/21/24) – The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team lost its' first American Midwest Conference matchup of the season to Harris-Stowe State by the final score of 80-73 on Thursday inside the Southerland-Mabee Center.

Trahe Qualls and Amarion Wilson tied for the team-lead in scoring with 13 points each, with DJ Townsend adding in 11.  Elisha Cofield led on the boards with 10 rebounds on the night.

The Eagles shot 47.5 percent from the field on 28-for-59 including a 38.9 percent clip from three-point range on 14-for-36 shooting.  The Hornets edged the Eagles in the rebound battle 36-35.  

WBU could not find its offensive footing in the first half, and the Hornets took advantage with an 8-2 run to begin the game.  A Cofield layup gave the Eagles a 16-14 lead with 10:29 left in the first, but the Hornets took the lead right back on a Seth Chargois trey.  A Bennie Amos III three pushed the Harris-Stowe lead to 10, and the Hornets rode the momentum through the end of the half with a 38-29 lead.

Williams came out of halftime on a 10-5 run capped off by a Rico Quinton layup that cut the Hornet advantage to four points, but HSSU responded with a 14-2 run to push its lead back out to 16.

With six minutes to play, a Cooper Rabjohn three-ball kicked off an 11-0 run for the Eagles to bring the score within four points.  DJ Townsend buried a jumper out of the timeout two bring the Eagles within two at 73-71 with 2:23 to play, but a 7-2 Hornet run dashed the Eagles hope of a comeback.  An Amos free throw set the final score at 80-73.

The Eagles fall to 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in AMC play.  WBU will return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 23 to take on William Woods.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside the Southerland-Mabee Center on the campus of Williams Baptist University.