UMSL Beat Harris Stowe 65-55

Pratt Scores Career High in Rivermen Win

St. Louis, Mo. – The UMSL men’s basketball team fought off a tough Harris Stowe team and came away with a 65-55 win over the Hornets. Jared Pratt (Elsberry, Mo./Elsberry) came off the bench and played well, scoring a career high 12 points on the night in the win.

The game even early in the first half until the Rivermen grabbed a lead. UMSL broke a 12-12 tie with four straight points and led 16-12 at the 9:46 mark. Harris Stowe then went on an 11-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to take a 23-16 lead. Jared Pratt then broke that run with a fast break layup for UMSL, which ignited a 9-2 run by the Rivermen to tie the game at 25-25. After the teams exchanged buckets, Justin Foust (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles West) hit a jumper in the paint and Pratt hit an inside jumper to give UMSL the 31-27 halftime advantage.

UMSL held that lead throughout the second half, despite a tenacious Harris Stowe that would not quit. The Hornet cut the gap to just one point at 32-31 at the 17:20 mark before UMSL went on a 6-0 run, getting two jumpers from Jo’Van Fisher (East St. Louis, Ill./Althoff) during that stretch. The Rivermen then increased that lead to as many as 11 points at 48-37 at the 11-minute mark. Harris Stowe then came back again, getting within four points at 50-46 with just over eight minutes remaining. Ronnie Banks (Birmingham, Ala./Phillips) then hit a big three-pointer as the Rivermen pushed the lead back to ten points and then hit clutch free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 65-55 win.

UMSL was led by Jonathan Griffin (St. Louis, Mo./Normandy) with a game-high 14 points, including 10-of-13 from the free throw line, and seven rebounds. Jared Pratt came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points in the game and pulled down four rebounds and Ronnie Banks scored 12 points as well.

The Rivermen are now 5-3 on the season. UMSL will be in action again this weekend when they travel to play at UM Rolla on Saturday, December 9 at 3:15 pm.