ROCKFORD, Ill. – Playing in its first game since Dec. 16, the Milwaukee Area Technical College men's basketball team fell behind early and couldn't quite recover in its road matchup against Rock Valley Saturday.

The pivotal difference in production from beyond the three-point line proved to be the deciding factor in the Stormers' 89-73 loss to the Golden Eagles. MATC shot just 28 percent (7-of-25) from deep meanwhile Rock Valley shot 41.2 percent on 14 makes (14-of-34).

Things were looking good early when the Stormers held onto an 11-10 lead less than five minutes into the opening half. However, it was around this time that the Golden Eagles sparked a 20-2 run led by five made 3-pointers between the 15:09 and 10:08 marks of the first half.

Rock Valley's strong stroke from deep allowed them to take a 41-33 halftime lead before going on to claim the win by double-digits. As a result of the loss, MATC dropped to 6-12 overall and 2-7 on the road.

As a squad, the Stormers shot 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the field. They connected on eight of ten free-throw attempts and totaled 26 bench points. Furthermore, MATC finished with 34 points in the paint, 18 points off turnovers and eight second-chance points.

STAT BOOK
Sophomore Matthew Hoarde paced the Stormers with 20 points, four rebounds and one steal. Sophomore Cyrus Little added a dozen points, four assists and three defensive rebounds. Sophomore Antonio Foxwell finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman Noah Daniels contributed 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench.

UP NEXT
MATC (6-12) will host Olive-Harvey College at 3 p.m. Saturday.