Truman Visits Pepsi Arena on QU Senior Night

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Thursday, Feb. 26
7:30 p.m. - Quincy (13-14, 7-10 GLVC) vs. Truman State (18-9, 10-7 GLVC)

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REGULAR SEASON FINALE: Quincy University's regular season comes to a close on Thursday night when the Hawks welcome travel partner and rival Truman State to Pepsi Arena. The teams will meet for the second time this season after opening GLVC play on Dec. 6 when the Bulldogs came away with a 91-76 win in Kirksville, Mo.

THE NUMBER 10: Quincy has secured its place in the GLVC Tournament and will play on the road in the first round on Sunday. The Hawks have already locked in the No. 10 seed in the tournament and will find out their first round opponent at the conclusion of GLVC play on Thursday night. The Hawks are mostly likely to travel to Missouri-St. Louis, but the possibility exists that Quincy could play either Truman State in a rematch on Sunday, or travel to Springfield, Mo. to take on Drury. The Hawks and Tritons split their two-game set this season and DU defeated the Hawks in overtime in Springfield on Jan. 31.

LAST LOOK AT LAST WEEK: The Hawks traveled to UMSL on Thursday and lost a 65-63 decision in the final minute to the Tritons. Aareon Smith scored 28 points against QU and won GLVC Player of the Week honors. Junior guard Nate Des Jardins (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) missed a decent look at a 3-pointer at the buzzer. On Saturday, the Hawks turned around and defeated Maryville, 75-65, getting a strong defensive effort, plus a team-high 16 points from junior forward Dalton Hoover (Pittsfield, Ill.).

SENIOR NIGHT STARTERS: QU head coach Marty Bell will insert all four of his seniors in the starting lineup on Senior Night. Guard Ja'mil Jones (Blythewood, S.C./Pasco Hernando CC), guard T.J. Riggs (Bloomington, Ill./Ashland University), forward Scott Hahn (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa) and center Josh Schaben (Defiance, Iowa/Iowa Lakes CC) will all by playing in their final game at Pepsi Arena. Riggs will be making his first career start on Thursday night.

ONE BIG LOSS: While the Hawks picked up a 10-point win over Maryville on Saturday, the good thoughts afterward were subdued. Redshirt-sophomore forward and Quincy's leading scorer Evan McGaughey (Carthage, Ill./Illini West) was injured when he landed awkwardly going for a blocked shot with under four minutes left in the game. McGaughey, the Hawks' leading scorer (11.6 points per game) and rebounder (6.6), will miss the remainder of the season.

HOOVER STEPS UP: For the Hawks to have success without McGaughey, several players will have to step up to fill the void. One of those players is Hoover, who has been on a hot streak of late. The Pittsfield, Ill. native is averaging 12.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game over the last six games. Hoover is also shooting 71.7 percent (33-46) from the field in that stretch – a figure that would lead the nation if extrapolated over the whole season.

BLOCK PARTY: Hoover has also continued his dominance at defending the rim, leading the GLVC in total blocks (44) and ranking third in blocks per game (1.63). The 6-foot-7 Hoover has at least two blocks in each of the last five games, including four at Missouri-St. Louis last Saturday. He established a career-high five swats at McKendree on Jan. 10. As a team, the Hawks lead the GLVC in blocks per game (4.37). They have 118 stuffs on the season – their most since they had 119 in the 2009-10 NCAA Sweet 16 season.

THE BRUX FACTOR: Another post player who will need to continue to step up in McGaughey's absence is redshirt-sophomore forward Scottie Bruxvoort (Mitchellville, Iowa/Prairie City Monroe). Bruxvoort is second on the team in scoring (11.3) and ranks fifth in the GLVC in field goal percentage (.601, 101-168). The 6-foot-6 Bruxvoort has shown remarkable consistency this season, scoring at least eight points in all but just three games, including his last nine overall. Bruxvoort scored 12 points and collected four rebounds in the Hawks' win over Maryville on Saturday. He scored 21 and 18 points in back-to-back appearances against nationally-ranked Bellarmine and Indianapolis earlier this month.

JACKSON RETURNS: Junior point guard Thomas Jackson (Louisville, Ky./Cincinnati State) made his return to the floor on Saturday after missing seven straight games with an ankle injury suffered agaisnt William Jewell on Jan. 24. Jackson played 17 minutes in a reserve role against the Saints, scoring five points with two assists. He made his only shot attempt – a 3-pointer – in the first half.

JONES FILLS IN: Jones will make his ninth straight start for the Hawks on Thursday night after filling in for Jackson in the starting lineup. Jones averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in his eight previous starts. He set a career high with 22 points at Drury on Jan. 31 and established a new personal best with six boards against Maryville. Jones also increased his 3-point percentage while in the starting role. He is now hitting at a 39.1 percent (25-64) clip from long range.

CRASH THE GLASS: The Hawks lead the GLVC in rebounding (37.8 per game) and have been out-rebounded by their opponents in just four of their last 14 games. Over that stretch, the Hawks are winning the rebounding margin by an average of four boards per game. McGaughey leads the Hawks on the glass with 6.6 rebounds per game – a figure that ranks 10th in the conference. He is one of four Hawks averaging at least four rebounds per game.

ON BALANCE: The Hawks rank fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 80 points per game, but do not have a player that ranks in the top 30 in the league in scoring average. Three Hawks average 10 points per game, seven average at least 7.7 points per game and all 10 major rotation players pick up at least four points per game.

FREE THROW STRUGGLES: After setting a school record in free throw proficiency last season (.750), the Hawks have scuffled from the charity stripe this season. Quincy ranks 16th in the league in free throw shooting (.666, 437-636). The Hawks shot 71.8 percent (28-39) from the line last week and have now shot at least 70 percent from the line for three straight games for the second time this season. 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, 88-84 to McKendree and 65-63 to Missouri-St. Louis. On Jan. 25, the Hawks lost in overtime to defending national champion Central Missouri. The 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.

GLVC TICKETS: Tickets for the 2015 GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament are on sale 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

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

#12 Scott Hahn: G/F; 6' 6"; Senior

#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

#34 T.J. Riggs: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#44 Josh Schaben: C; 6' 8"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#12 Scott Hahn
: 6' 6"; Senior
: 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

#34 T.J. Riggs
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#44 Josh Schaben
: 6' 8"; Senior
: C

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