mcgaughey
Mathew Kirby
71
Tiffin TIFFIN
72
Winner Quincy QU
Tiffin TIFFIN
71
Final
72
Quincy QU
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Tiffin TIFFIN 24 47 71
Quincy QU 35 37 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Nicholas Kedzuch

Hawks Weather Tiffin Comeback to Win in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The Quincy University men's basketball team weathered a 14-0 run from Tiffin University to take a 72-71 win in their first game of the Puerto Rico Classic. Two free throws from Marcus Hinton sealed the win putting QU up by four points with three seconds remaining. Tony Kinard's buzzer beating three from half court for TU proved the Hinton free throws crucial to the Hawks' one point win.

Tiffin (2-3) jumped out to an early lead in the first half primarily off of dribble-drive penetration by their guards. The Dragons used their length to disrupt the Hawks' (5-1) passing lanes on the defensive end.

QU made the adjustment to a zone defense to slow the Dragon offense. The Hawks also started to penetrate the paint and find the open man when the Dragons slotted over for the double team. This adjustment and solid shot selection helped the Hawks to a 35-24 lead at halftime.

The Hawks shot 54% from the floor in the first half. QU held the Dragons to 27% shooting in the first stanza. The Hawks out rebounded the Dragons 24-14 before halftime.

Tiffin trailed by 14 points in the second half with under seven minutes remaining when they sparked a 14-0 run to knot the game at 59-59 with three minutes to play.

The Dragon offense started hitting the outside shot, knocking down 5-of-10 in the second half, and forcing turnovers with six steals after half. Tiffin forced 11 QU turnovers in the second half thanks to the full court press. TU jumped ahead late in the game, but the lead never grew more than one possession.

Evan McGaughey provided a spark of energy after the final media timeout with a monster dunk on the baseline while drawing a foul to give the Hawks a one point lead, 64-63.

With Herm Senor II in foul trouble, Grant Meyer stepped in to play 38 minutes with almost half coming at the point. The red shirt senior dished out three assists to go along with eight points and three rebounds.

QU leaned on their post play down the stretch, and the bigs delivered with a huge effort. Joe Tagarelli notched a double-double with 22 points and 12 boards. McGaughey added 15 points and seven rebounds. Dalton Hoover added seven points with three offensive boards in 13 minutes of play. Marcus Hinton notched 21 minutes off the bench with eight points and eight rebounds.

The Hawks got to the line often in the second half by working the ball to the post. QU hit 16-of-20 free throws in the second half, including Hinton's two charity shots to seal the win with three seconds left. 

The Hawks feasted on rebounds grabbing 49 rebounds in the game with nine offensive boards in the second half. Tiffin was held to 29 rebounds. 

The Dragons were led by Alex Brown with 19 points. Kynard scored 17 points for Tiffin including a buzzer beating half court shot to end the second half. Brandon Wilkins fouled out for Tiffin, but finished with 10 points in 22 minutes.

The Hawks play one more game in Puerto Rico tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 26). QU takes on Northwood in the Mario Morales Coliseum at 10 a.m. CDT.
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