Hawks never flinch in second half, outlast Cougars to score exhibition upset

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Ryan Hellenthal didn’t want to temper the excitement with too much of a dose of reality, but the Quincy University men’s basketball coach needed the Hawks to know what lies ahead.

“This is just an exhibition for us,” the fifth-year coach said after the Hawks upset NCAA Division I SIU-Edwardsville 62-61 on Thursday night at Family Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center. “And we’ve got two teams that I think are better than Edwardsville coming in next weekend.”

But what better way to prepare for the season opener against the University of Findlay — a team that went 18-5 last season and returns three of its top four scorers — than with a confidence-boosting effort.

“It’s about making those moments and having those moments with your teammates,” Hellenthal said. “Our guys get to enjoy that.”

That’s because of their competitive spirit.

The Hawks trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, were down 33-26 at halftime and never once flinched to allow the Cougars to go on a back-breaking run. Instead, Quincy responded to Courtney Carter’s layup to open the second half for SIUE with Paul Zilinskas knocking down a 3-pointer.

Two minutes later, the Hawks trailed by only one.

“I thought we played with a sense of purpose and urgency and competed at a pretty high level,” Hellenthal said. “This team has to understand if we’re going to enjoy any success we have to really compete at a high level and our toughness level from last year had to improve.”

It stayed a two-possession game for another four minutes before Quincy’s Charles Callier buried a 3-pointer for a 46-45 edge. The Hawks extended the lead to seven points with seven minutes to play and answered every challenge down the stretch.

After the Hawks’ Malik Hardmon and Carter exchanged baskets, Callier gave Quincy a 61-59 lead with 1:23 to go with a 3-pointer from the left wing. A free throw by SIUE’s Shamar Wright pulled the Cougars within a point, and they had three opportunities to take the lead in the final 30 seconds.

A missed layup by SIUE guard Ray’Sean Taylor ended up in QU forward Adam Moore’s hands and he made 1 of 2 free throws with 14 seconds remaining. Taylor drew a foul with two seconds left, but missed the first free throw and made the second to leave the Cougars still down a point.

“We had to scrap like we’re going to have to all year for this team to be in games,” Hellenthal said. “We got a couple of loose balls we wouldn’t have gotten last year. We did enough.”

Callier did all he could. The senior guard finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes. Zilinskas had 10 points and five assists, while Hardmon scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in his Hawks’ debut.

Taylor, the former Collinsville all-stater who missed last season with an injury, led the Cougars with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

“We went in there believing we could win,” Hellenthal said. “We showed good composure.”