Hawks Start Road Trip At S&T, Drury

This Weekend's Schedule
Thursday, Jan. 29
7:30 p.m. - Quincy (10-9, 4-5 GLVC) vs. Missouri S&T (8-9, 1-8 GLVC)

Saturday, Jan. 31
3:15 p.m. - Quincy (10-9, 4-5 GLVC) vs. Drury (13-4, 7-2 GLVC)

Following the Hawks
LIVE STATS (at Missouri S&T); LIVE STATS (at Drury)
WATCH (at Missouri S&T); No Video at Drury
RADIO: ESPN 1440 WGEM-AM

Quincy Game Notes (.pdf) | Missouri S&T Game Notes (.pdf)

TOUGH STRETCH: The Hawks open up a four-game road trip on Thursday when they travel to Rolla, Mo. to take on Missouri S&T. Following that game, QU takes on GLVC West-leading Drury, traditional power Southern Indiana and No. 6 Bellarmine – all on the road. Quincy then returns home to take on undefeated No. 1 Indianapolis. This four-game road trip is QU's longest of the season and will end a stretch of seven of 10 games away from Pepsi Arena.

LAST LOOK AT LAST WEEK: The Hawks defeated visiting Rockhurst, 91-76, last Thursday before turning away William Jewell, 78-70, on Saturday. The wins completed the Hawks' first sweep of a GLVC weekend since Feb. 2012. QU has now won three straight games for the first time since the 2011-12 season when the Hawks won five in a row. The GLVC season is now half over with the Hawks sitting in fifth place in the GLVC West and tied for ninth overall.

UP NEXT: As mentioned above, the Hawks travel to perennial power Southern Indiana and No. 6 Bellarmine next week before returning to Pepsi Arena where they will play four of their last five games.

JACKSON OUT: Junior point guard Thomas Jackson (Louisville, Ky./Cincinnati State) will miss the games at Missouri S&T and Drury with an ankle injury suffered late in the second half against William Jewell last Saturday. Jackson played very well last week, averaging 11.5 points and five assists. He matched a career-high with 18 points (on 7-for-7 shooting) and dished out six assists against Rockhurst last Thursday. For the season, he is averaging 9.7 points and 3.1 assists per game. Jackson will be re-evaluated on Monday. Senior Ja'mil Jones (Blythewood, S.C./Pasco Hernando CC) will make his second career start in place of Jackson. Jones is averaging 6.6 points in 15.4 minutes per game.

FIVE NINES: Each member of the Hawks' regular starting lineup is averaging nine points per game. The QU offense is the fourth-highest scoring unit in the GLVC (and 42nd in the nation) and the Hawks have done it without having a player ranked in the top 25 in the league in scoring. Quincy has shown tremenous balance on the offensive side of the floor with 10 players averaging at least four points per game and six players averaging at least nine points. Last week, six different players recorded a double-digit scoring game. Junior forward Dalton Hoover (Pittsfield, Ill.) was the only QU player to score at least 10 points in each game.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Redshirt-sophomore forward Evan McGaughey (Carthage, Ill./Illini West) recorded his third double-double of the season in the win over William Jewell, scoring 16 points to go with 10 rebounds and a career-best four steals. McGaughey was 7-for-13 from the field and and scored 10 points in the second half to help put away the Cardinals. The 6-foot-9 forward is Quincy's leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 11 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.4 percent (77-159) from the field. He is averaging 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in the last five games.

D-FENCE: The Hawks put together a couple of strong defensive performances last week, holding Rockhurst and William Jewell to under 45 percent shooting. Quincy has done that in six of its last eight games. The Hawks have also won the turnover battle in each of their last five games.

THE BRUX FACTOR: Redshirt-sophomore forward Scottie Bruxvoort (Mitchellville, Iowa/Prairie City Monroe) is averaging 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in just 19.9 minutes per game off the bench. Bruxvoort also ranks fourth in the GLVC in field goal percentage (.629, 66-105) as he has been able to establish position in the paint, especially when the Hawks face a 2-3 zone. He has also been effective in the transitition game, running the floor for easy dunks or put-backs. Only three times this season has Bruxvoort shot below 50 percent from the field. He ranks second on the team in scoring, despite not making a start.

BLOCK PARTY: The Hawks currently lead the GLVC in blocked shots, averaging 4.47 per game. No other conference team is averaing at least four blocks. That figure ranks 29th in the nation where they are 20th in total blocks (77). Hoover leads the team with 28 blocks on the season, ranking third in the conference (1.47 per game). He had a career-high five blocks at McKendree on Jan. 10 and had three swats this weekend. McGaughey has 22 blocks on the season, while junior wing Godson Eneogwe (Chicago, Ill./Illinois Central) has 18.

CHECKING IN: The QU bench unit has been very productive in its minutes on the floor, no doubt helped by the infusion of four seniors in that group. Marty Bell's reserves are averaging 33.1 points per game this season and have scored at least 25 points in 15 of Quincy's 19 games. The opponents' bench units average just 24.1 points per game against the Hawks. The Quincy bench outscored both of its opponents last week.

FREE THROW STRUGGLES: While their overall numbers at the free throw line are not where they want them to be, the Hawks have been better from the stripe the last two games, going 19-23 (82.6 percent) against Rockhurst and 10-14 (71.4 percent) against Jewell. The mark against Rockhurst was just the third time this season the Hawks have eclipsed the 80 percent mark from the line.

GUARD PLAY: Sophomore guard Herm Senor II (Springfield, Ill./Southeast) has come into his own this season, averaging 9.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game. The 5-foot-10 combo guard has scored in double figures in four of the last six games and has at least one assist in all but one of QU's games this season. Meanwhile, Jackson has been excellent running the point with Jones backing him up off the bench. Junior Nate Des Jardins (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) is the Hawks' 3-point marksman, shooting 39.6 percent (19-46) from long range.

FITTING IN: Eneogwe is a junior college transfer and the 6-foot-6, 220-pound wing from Chicago has been a force with his high-flying athleticism and ability to shoot from long range. He has thrown down several monster dunks in the last couple weeks, both on lbos in transition and in half-court sets as he loses defenders on the weak side. Nicknamed "O.D." for his middle name, Eneogwe is third on the team with 20 steals and is the only QU player to score 20 points in a game twice this season.

CLOSE & LATE: The Hawks have played 15 Division II opponents so far this season and six of those games have been decided by one possession or gone to overtime. QU is 2-4 in games decided by five points or less.

DIVISION I EXPERIENCE: The Hawks played two exhibition games against Division I opponents this season, squaring off with the Big Ten's Illinois in the preseason in Champaign and taking on Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Conference on Dec. 29 in Normal, Ill. The Hawks and Redbirds have now played seven times in the last eight seasons. Quincy played a third exhibition game, coming in the preseason, when it hosted Division III Blackburn at Pepsi Arena.

THREE EXTRA FRAMES: When the Hawks won their triple-OT affair against Ferris State, it was QU's first time going three overtimes since losing to Saint Joseph's, 104-103, in the NCAA Tournament regional final in Owensboro, Ky. in 2010. The Hawks went overtime just once in 2013-14, falling to then-defending national champion Drury, 92-87, at Pepsi Arena. That makes two consecutive seasons the Hawks have taken the defending national champion to OT.

HALFWAY POINT: Last Saturday's GLVC games marked the ninth league contest for each team, which was the official halfway point of the 18-game conference season. Since 2008, four teams -- Bellarmine (2011), Drury (2013, 2008) and Northern Kentucky (2009) -- have led their respective division at the halfway point and gone on to claim the conference title.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Scottie Bruxvoort: G/F; 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

#3 Nate Des Jardins: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#40 Dalton Hoover: F/C; 6' 7"; Junior

#1 Ja'mil Jones: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#42 Evan McGaughey: G/F; 6' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

#14 Herm Senor II: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#4 Thomas Jackson: G; 6' 0"; Junior

#24 Godson Eneogwe: G/F; 6' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#5 Scottie Bruxvoort
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G/F

#3 Nate Des Jardins
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#40 Dalton Hoover
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F/C

#1 Ja'mil Jones
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#42 Evan McGaughey
: 6' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G/F

#14 Herm Senor II
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#4 Thomas Jackson
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

#24 Godson Eneogwe
: 6' 6"; Junior
: G/F