Hawks Return Home To Face #7 UIndy, Saint Joseph's

This Weekend's Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 12, presented by Bank of Springfield
7:30 p.m. - Quincy (11-12, 5-8 GLVC) vs. #7 Indianapolis (19-2, 11-2 GLVC)

Saturday, Feb. 14
3:15 p.m. - Quincy (11-10, 5-6 GLVC) vs. Saint Joseph's (6-17, 3-10 GLVC)

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Quincy Game Notes (.pdf) | Indianapolis Game Notes (.pdf)

BACK AT HOME: The Hawks return to their friendly confines this week for the first time since Jan. 24 as they welcome No. 7 Indianapolis and Saint Joseph's to Pepsi Arena for GLVC cross-divisional action. The Greyhounds responded from a couple road losses two weeks ago with two home wins last week to improve to 19-2 overall. The Pumas earned a home split last week against Maryville and Missouri-St. Louis.

LAST LOOK AT LAST WEEK: The Hawks were on the road last week to battle GLVC East cohorts Southern Indiana and No. 5 Bellarmine. Quincy led for parts of the first half before Southern Indiana went on a run at the start of the second half to take command. After the Eagles led by as many as 16, the Hawks cut it down to four, but could not get over the hump in a 68-62 defeat. Against Bellarmine, the Hawks were the better team over the first 30 minutes, leading 59-54 with 10 minutes to play. But the Knights blitzed the Hawks over the last 10 minutes, closing the game on a 37-11 run, including a 25-0 stretch, that set Quincy to a 91-70 defeat.

UP NEXT: The Hawks play their final road game of the regular season on Thursday at Missouri-St. Louis before returning home for a Feb. 21 date with Maryville.

HOOVER'S WEEK: Amidst the two losses, junior Dalton Hoover (Pittsfield, Ill.) put together a couple of solid performances last week, averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last week. The 6-foot-7 forward connected on 87.5 percent (14-16) of his shots last week, including a 7-for-7 shooting performance against the Knights. He scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting against USI. Hoover raised his scoring average to 9.2 points per game and moved into ninth in the GLVC in field goal percentage (.567, 80-141).

THE BRUX FACTOR: Redshirt-sophomore forward Scottie Bruxvoort (Mitchellville, Iowa/Prairie City Monroe) is the first player off the bench for Marty Bell and continued his solid production in that role last week, averaging 16 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He scored 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting against Bellarmine, scoring 16 of his points in the first half. Bruxvoort moved into the team lead in scoring this season, averaging 11.2 points. Bruxvoort also ranks fourth in the GLVC in field goal percentage (.599, 85-142). He has scored at least four points in each of his 20 games this season and has at least two field goals in 19 games.

STANDING IN: Senior point guard Ja'mil Jones (Blythewood, S.C./Pasco Hernando CC) has started the last four games for the Hawks in place of junior Thomas Jackson (Louisville, Ky./Cincinnati State), who missed the last four games with an ankle injury. Jones is averaging 13 points per game in his starting role, asserting himself into the offense by shooting 48.6 percent (18-37) from the floor and 50 percent (5-10) from 3-point range in that stretch.

GIVEAWAYS: Where the Hawks have struggled without Jackson is ball security. In their four games without the Louisville, Ky. product, the Hawks are averaging 20 turnovers per game and have lost the turnover battle in all four games. Jackson was averaging less than two turnovers per game as the Hawks' floor general.

GET ON THE GLASS: Redshirt-sophomore Evan McGaughey (Carthage, Ill./Illini West) has been mixing it up on the glass the last few weeks, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game over the last nine contests. He is the Hawks' leading rebounder (7.0) and ranks 10th in the league in that category. McGaughey has three double-digit rebounding totals in the last seven games and has six such games in his career. As a unit, the Hawks lead the GLVC in total rebounds (38.2), and over the last 10 games, are out-rebounding their opponents by an average of four per game. Five players average at least three rebounds per game.

ON BALANCE: The Hawks rank fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 80.8 points per game, but they have done so without a player among the league's top 30 scorers. Two players average 11 points per game, six average at least nine points per game and all 10 major rotation players pick up four points per game.

BLOCK PARTY: The Hawks currently lead the GLVC in blocked shots, averaging 4.35 blocked shots per game. No other team is averaging four blocks. The Hawks have 100 total blocks for the third time in the last six seasons. Hoover ranks fourth in the league with 1.43 blocks per game, while McGaughey has climbed up to sixth in the GLVC rankings at 1.22 swats per game. The pair combined for nine blocks in last week's games.

FREE THROW STRUGGLES: After setting a school record in free throw proficiency last season, the Hawks have scuffled from the charity stripe this season. Quincy ranks 15th in the league in free throw shooting (.662, 378-571) after shooting a combined 58.8 percent (20-34) last week. QU leads the league in free throw attempts.

HEARTBREAK CITY: Quincy's overtime loss to Drury on Jan. 31 was the second time this season the Hawks have been snakebitten by an opponent buzzer-beater. On Jan. 15, Maryville trailed Quincy by one and missed a 3-pointer, but scored on a tip-in just before the buzzer sounded to knock off the Hawks. QU has also lost 69-67 to Grand Valley State, 74-73 to Lindenwood and 88-84 to McKendree. On Jan. 25, the Hawks lost in overtime to defending national champion Central Missouri. Saturday's defeat to Drury marked the second straight year the Hawks and Panthers have gone to an extra period.

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. The Hawks have gone to overtime against the defending national champions in each of the last two years after losing to Central Missouri, 90-84, on Nov. 25. QU is 1-2 in overtime games this season.

VIEW OF THE GLVC: The Hawks (5-8) currently sit in a three-way tie for ninth in the overall GLVC standings with Maryville and William Jewell. That triumverate holds a two-game lead over Illinois Springfield and Saint Joseph's (3-10), who are battling for the 12th and final spot in the conference tournament. The division winners receive the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the conference tournament, while the remainder of the teams are seeded by record. Seeds 1-4 receive first round byes into the quarterfinals, which will begin March 5 in St. Charles, Mo. Seeds 5-8 will play host to the 9-12 seeds at campus sites in the first round games on Feb. 28 or March 1. The Hawks are three games behind Lewis, Southern Indiana and Lewis (8-5) for the right to host a first round game.

GLVC CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS: Tickets for the 2015 GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament went on sale last week at MetroTix.com. This year's event will be held at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., March 5-8. All-Tournament passes ($38) along with general admission adult ($18) and student ($11) single-session passes are available.

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Players Mentioned

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

#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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#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

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