Strong second half carries Hawks to first victory, split of weekend crossover

QUINCY — Nate Shockey didn’t come off the floor Saturday night, and he might not find himself on the sideline much hereafter.

The sophomore guard’s presence was crucial in the Quincy University men’s basketball team finding some on-court chemistry and discovering a rotation of players that maintains the right level of tenacity to produce victories.

The Hawks outscored Cedarville 45-33 in the second half of the final game of the GMAC-GLVC Regional Crossover at Pepsi Arena, cementing an 88-77 victory with a buckle-down defensive effort that enabled them to finish the weekend with a 1-1 record.

“After losing that first game, you have to challenge guys,” QU coach Ryan Hellenthal said. “The way we played (Friday) night wasn’t up to our standard or our expectation. So I was pleased with our character and resilience as we bounced back.”

Shockey was at the center of it.

The transfer from the University of North Dakota scored nine points in 21 minutes off the bench in Friday’s loss to Findlay, but he was inserted into the starting lineup against Cedarville and delivered an incredibly efficient effort. He finished with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Senior guard Jamaurie Coakley also moved into the starting lineup and had nine points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals. Malik Hardmon led the Hawks with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.

Overall, the Hawks had 16 assists against just seven turnovers.

“We opened up the middle of the zone in the second half and got the ball to the high post,” Hellenthal said. “We really just carved it from there. The ball was going downhill in the second half.”

Trailing 44-43 at halftime, the Hawks limited the Yellow Jackets to just three free throws in the first four minutes of the second half. By the time Cedarville made a field goal, Quincy had grabbed a 55-49 lead.

The Yellow Jackets shot 65.4 percent from the field in the first half and 63.6 percent from 3-point range. In the second half, however, Cedarville was limited to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 26.3 percent from 3-point range.

Meanwhile, Quincy shot 48.4 percent from the field in the second half.

“I told the guys at halftime it’s going to be a battle of wills,” Hellenthal said. “I thought we buckled down and got some things done on the defensive end. We kept the ball out of the paint and were able to contest some threes and did some things that way.”

The Hawks will continue their four-game homestand to open the season at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against Hannibal-LaGrange.

“This was a great step for us in the process of trying to get better and now we have to carry that on into next week,” Hellenthal said.