ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Owain Hall had the best scoring game of his career Sunday, but otherwise the Miners struggled all afternoon as Harris-Stowe knocked off the Miners 83-68 on the second day of the Missouri-St. Louis Holiday Classic.
Hall scored 20 points in the game, including five three-point baskets, but the Miners struggled all day with the Hornets, turning the ball over 21 times and allowing 22 points off those turnovers. The Hornets also converted 19 second chance points in the game.
The teams traded the lead five times throughout the first half, which saw the Hornets ahead 36-32 at the intermission. UMR was able to stay afloat thanks to the outside shooting of Owain Hall, who connected four times from three-point range to score 12 of the Miners’ 32 points.
A three-point basket by Aaron Hays with just over five minutes to go in the half gave UMR a 27-25 lead, then the Miners extended the lead to four on two free throws by Curtis Mosley. However, Harris-Stowe scored nine of the last 12 points of the half, the last six on a pair of three-pointers by Dustin Fox, to get its halftime advantage.
UMR trailed 42-37 early in the second half before Hall hit his fifth three-pointer and Aaron Hays scored on a fast break layup to tie the game at the 16:53 mark. However, the Hornets made a 16-7 run over a six-minute span to take a nine-point lead at 60-51.
The Miners cut that nine-point lead down to four after a three-point play by Hall, then after a Dustin Fox three-pointer, the junior guard from Jamaica hit a baseline jumper moments later to make it a five-point game at 63-58.
Harris-Stowe led 68-60 with 4:15 to go when the Miners got a four-point possession. Taurance Townsel made the first of two at the line, but DeJon Slaughter got the rebound of the miss and Hays canned a three-pointer at the 3:57 mark to trim the lead to four.
The teams traded points on their next possessions, then the Hornets were able to pull away by scoring eight straight points to take a 78-66 lead with 1:56 remaining.
Besides the 20 points scored by Hall, the Miners also got 14 points from Townsel, 12 from Justin Taylor and 10 from Hays as they shot 44.2 percent for the game. Slaughter had 10 rebounds for UMR.
UMR (2-2) will open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Thursday when it faces Saint Joseph’s in a 7:30 p.m. game in Rensselaer, Ind.
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