Front-Running Hawks Start Road Swing at Drury, Missouri S&T

Quincy University Hawks (13-5, 7-2 GLVC) at Drury University Panthers (11-6, 6-3 GLVC)
Jan. 28, 2016 | 7:45 p.m.
O'Reilly Family Event Center – Springfield, MO

Quincy University Hawks (13-5, 7-2 GLVC) at Missouri S&T Miners (8-10, 4-5 GLVC)
Jan. 30, 2016 | 3:00 p.m.
Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building – Rolla, MO

LENGTHY ROAD SWING: The Quincy University men's basketball team opens a season-long four-game road trip this week as they travel to central Missouri to take on Drury and Missouri S&T. The Hawks are making the swing through Springfield and Rolla for the second straight season. Last year, the Panthers defeated the Hawks, 90-88, on a buzzer-beating half-court shot by Kameron Bundy in overtime. Two days prior, the Hawks had defeated the Miners for their fourth straight win, 87-70.

WINNING WAYS: The Hawks rebounded quickly from their 81-79 defeat at No. 9 Bellarmine on Jan. 16 by sweeping GLVC opponents Maryville and Missouri-St. Louis at Pepsi Arena last week. Quincy soundly defeated the Saints, 98-79, on Thursday and needed overtime to overcome a pesky UMSL squad on Saturday, 94-92. The Hawks had five players score in double figures in both games and junior forward Evan McGaughey (Carthage, Ill./Illini West) averaged 19.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

UP NEXT: The Hawks continue their road swing next week, resuming GLVC inter-divisional play in Indiana by taking on Saint Joseph's and Indianapolis.

DIVISION LEADERS: The Hawks (7-2 GLVC) lead the GLVC West by one game over Drury (6-3) and Truman State (6-3) at the midway point of the conference season. The Hawks have already matched its overall and conference win total from last season when they went 13-15 overall and 7-11 in GLVC play. Quincy last won at least 14 games in the 2011-12 season (18-9, 11-7 GLVC).

DROPS IN THE BUCKET: With their 98 and 94-point performances last week, the Hawks became the GLVC's top scoring team, averaging 87.1 points per game. QU has scored at least 93 points in each of their last six victories. The Hawks rank fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.486).

THREES STILL RAINING: The Hawks also still maintain the league lead in 3-pointers made per game (9.56). They hit 19 in two games last week, despite not shooting as efficiently as they had in previous games. The Hawks shot 41.4 percent (29-for-70) on a recent two-game wing to Southern Indiana and Bellarmine. On eight occasions, QU has hit at least 10 3-pointers in a game and five times hit at least 14 triples. Senior guard Nate Des Jardins (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) leads the Hawks with 35 treys on the season. Eight Hawks have at least a dozen 3-pointers.

WILSON (FIRE EMOJI x3): Senior guard Jordan Wilson (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) has provided an exceptional spark off the bench as he has forced into the backup point guard role because of injuries throughout the Hawks' rotation. The fifth-year player has responded with a hot shooting stroke. In the last five games, Wilson is shooting 70 percent (14-for-20) from 3-point range and is now shooting 52.6 percent (20-for-38) for the season from long distance. That figure qualifies him for the league lead in 3-point accuracy.

KEEPING TABS ON TAGS: Junior forward Joseph Tagarelli (Bayside, Wis./Waunakee/Kirkwood CC) came off the bench last Saturday for the first time this season while battling through illness. The first-year transfer also dealt with foul trouble against the Tritons, but still finished with eight points and four rebounds in 16 minutes. It snapped a 14-game streak of double-digit scoring for the 6-foot-5 Wisconsin native. In Thursday's win over Maryville, Tagarelli scored 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting and collected eight rebounds.

FRONT LINE COMBO: The combination of Tagarelli and McGaughey has been lethal for the Hawks and it showed especially last Thursday as McGaughey joined Tagarelli with 25 points and nine rebounds. McGaughey's 25 points matched a career-high he set two years ago in a game against Drury. McGaughey now has five double-doubles on the season and ranks fifth in the GLVC in rebounding (7.8), seventh in field goal percentage (.572) and third in blocks (1.5).

EFFICIENT DISHING: Junior guard Herm Senor II (Springfield, Ill./Southeast) has been sublime after entering the lineup as the starting point guard on Jan. 9. Since senior Thomas Jackson's season-ending injury, Senor is averaging 7.8 assists against just 1.4 turnovers per game. He is now ninth in the nation and leads the GLVC in assist-turnover ratio (3.19). Senor is also third in the GLVC in assists per game (4.61). The Hawks also lead the conference in assists per game (17.67).

GRAND THEFT ROUNDBALL: The Hawks also lead the GLVC in steals per game (9.61) and helped that average last week with 10 steals against Maryville and 14 against the Tritons. Tagarelli leads the Hawks with 1.5 steals per game, followed by Des Jardins (1.44) and Senor (1.39). All three rank in the league's top 15 in that category.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Nate Des Jardins: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#1 Thomas Jackson: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#42 Evan McGaughey: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Junior

#2 Herm Senor II: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#22 Jordan Wilson: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior

#5 Joseph Tagarelli: F; 6' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#3 Nate Des Jardins
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#1 Thomas Jackson
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#42 Evan McGaughey
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#2 Herm Senor II
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#22 Jordan Wilson
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#5 Joseph Tagarelli
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F