Hawks Head West For Regular Season's Final Road Trip

Quincy University Hawks (16-8, 10-5 GLVC) at Rockhurst University Hawks (12-11, 7-8 GLVC)
Feb. 18, 2016 | 7:30 p.m.
Mason-Halpin Field House – Kansas City, MO

Quincy University Hawks (16-8, 10-5 GLVC) at William Jewell College Cardinals (8-15, 3-12 GLVC)
Feb. 20, 2016 | 3 p.m.
Mabee Center for Physical Education – Liberty, MO

FINAL ROAD TRIP: The Quincy University men's basketball team heads to the western side of Missouri this week for its final road trip of the regular season as the Hawks take on Rockhurst and William Jewell in GLVC West action. This season, the Hawks are 4-6 away from Pepsi Arena.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: For the first time this season, the Hawks will play an opponent for the second time as Rockhurst and Jewell are in Quincy's scheduling pod, along with Truman State. On Dec. 3, Quincy romped the Cardinals, 89-60, at Pepsi Arena. The Hawks followed that up with a 77-67 win over Rockhurst on Dec. 5. Junior forward Evan McGaughey (Carthage, Ill./Illini West) posted a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double against the Cardinals while junior guard Von Washington III (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Central/Western Michigan) had a team-high 18 points. Against Rockhurst, junior forward Joseph Tagarelli (Bayside, Wis./Waunakee/Kirkwood CC) scored 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting and collected nine rebounds.

OVERTIME HEARTBREAKER: The Hawks are looking to rebound after an emotional 108-107 overtime defeat to No. 17 UW-Parkside at Pepsi Arena last Saturday. The Hawks led for majority of the game, including an eight-point advantage with 1:10 remaining in regulation, but struggled at the free throw line down the stretch. QU also led by three, 107-104, with 30 seconds remaining, but a late turnover gave the Rangers the ball with a chance at the final shot. Andy Mazurczak was able to get just inside the elbow after pulling the ball back with five seconds left and knocked down a tough shot over McGaughey's 6-foot-8 frame with 0.2 seconds remaining for the winner.

UP NEXT: The Hawks will wrap up the regular season on Thursday at Pepsi Arena where they will battle Truman State at 7:30 p.m. QU will recognize its senior class prior to the game.

GLVC TOURNAMENT PROSPECTS: Quincy will play in its 12^th GLVC Tournament in 13 seasons under head coach Marty Bell. The Hawks are in the driver's seat to play host to a GLVC Tournament first round game on Feb. 28, but need some help to draw a bye into the conference quarterfinals in St. Charles, Mo. The division winners receive the top two seeds in the tournament while the next two spots (byes) are given to the next two teams based on GLVC record, regardless of division. Currently, the Hawks sit tied for fifth with Lewis, and one game behind Drury for the division lead.

FIRST REGIONAL RANKINGS: The NCAA released the first batch of the Division II regional rankings on Wednesday afternoon, but the Hawks were not included in the top 10. The top eight teams ranked will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament following the conclusion of the conference tournaments. The winners of the GLVC, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournaments each receive automatic bids into the national bracket. The current rankings are as follows with in-region records in parentheses:

UW-Parkside (17-3)
Bellarmine (18-3)
Saginaw Valley State (19-4)
Ashland (19-4)
Indianapolis (15-5)
Ferris State (19-6)
Lewis (16-6)
Lake Superior State (14-8)
Findlay (16-7)
Drury (12-6)

The Hawks are 1-5 against regionally ranked teams, the lone win coming last Thursday against Lewis, 83-63. QU has losses to UW-Parkside, Bellarmine, Indianapolis, Ferris State and Drury.

CLOSE ONES: Through the first 14 games this season, the Hawks had not played a game decided by fewer than six points; however, half of their last 10 games have been decided by four or fewer points. Quincy is 2-3 in those games, including the overtime defeat to the Rangers. QU knocked off Southern Indiana, 96-92, in Evansville, on Jan. 14 and followed that up with an 81-79 defeat at Bellarmine. The Hawks defeated Missouri-St. Louis in overtime, 94-92, on Jan. 23, and fell to Drury, 79-76, on Jan. 28.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING: The Hawks rate as the top offense in the GLVC, scoring 87.2 points per game, a figure that also ranks 18^th in the nation. Quincy has scored at least 80 points in each of its last 12 wins. The Hawks have also topped the 100-point mark four times this season, including twice in the last five games, including the 108-107 loss to Parkside. QU defeated Missouri S&T, 109-96, on Jan. 30 in Rolla.

BALANCED ATTACK: Despite the gaudy offensive numbers, the Hawks have just one player, Tagarelli (16.7 ppg., 8^th), ranked in the top 20 in the GLVC in scoring. QU has six players averaging in double figures in scoring, including Thomas Jackson, who is out for the season after suffering a broken arm on Jan. 7.

MCGAUGHEY NEARING 1,000: McGaughey has shown remarkable consistency in the second half of the season, recording double digit point totals in the last 14 games. He has six double-doubles in that stretch and five other games with nine rebounds. The 6-foot-8 fourth-year junior is nearing the 1,000-point mark in his career. He currently sits at 955 points and can reach four digits this week by averaging 22.5 points per game. He would be the 40^th player to reach the 1,000-point plateau in a QU uniform and the first since Chris Babbitt in 2014.

WINNING THE BOX SCORE: The Hawks currently rank in the top three in various statistical categories within the GLVC. QU leads the conference in steals at 9.33 per game, a figure that ranks eighth nationally. The Hawks are also second in the league in blocks (4.42), assists (17.58) and turnover margin (+2.38).

RAINING THREES: The Hawks also lead the GLVC in 3-pointers made per game (9.71) after ranking 15^th in the league in each of the last two seasons. Despite their proficiency from beyond the arc, no QU players rank in the top 15 in the GLVC in 3-pointers made per game. Senior guard Nate Des Jardins (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) leads the team with 47 threes made, closely followed by Washington (41) and junior guard Herm Senor II (Springfield, Ill./Southeast), who has 40 makes. Quincy is also an efficient team from beyond the arc, ranking fourth in the conference at 38 percent.

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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

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

#30 Von Washington III: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt 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

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

#30 Von Washington III
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: G