Bulldogs’ blistering shooting from perimeter buries Hawks in GLVC road loss

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The Truman State men’s basketball team is one of the best 3-point shooting squads in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season.

Quincy University is one of the worst.

That’s how it looked Saturday.

The Bulldogs shot the ball as efficiently as any QU opponent has this season from the perimeter, knocking down 18 of 39 attempts while steamrolling the Hawks 94-55 at Pershing Arena. The Hawks, meanwhile, made only 6 of 30 3-point tries in losing for the eighth time in the last nine games.

Quincy, which is shooting 31 percent from 3-point range and ranks 13th in the 14-team league, will miss the GLVC Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The Hawks (11-16, 6-13 GLVC) wrap up the regular season at home next Saturday against Illinois-Springfield.

Truman State, which is second in the league at 39.5-percent shooting from 3-point range, has won seven of its last eight games to climb into a third-place tie in the GLVC standings. The Bulldogs (14-12, 11-7 GLVC) are third in the GLVC point rating system with two games to play and looking at a top-four seed for the conference tournament.

Keep shooting like they did Saturday and the Bulldogs will be difficult to beat.

Truman State made 10 3-pointers in the first half in building a 44-31 lead. A steal by QU guard Isaiah Foster led to a layin by Mason Wujek to start the second half, but the Hawks didn’t score again until another bucket in the paint by Wujek with 16:24 to go made it 53-35.

Quincy’s third field goal of the second half didn’t come until seven minutes remained — another Wujek touch in the paint led to a layin — and Truman State led by 38 points at that time.

The Bulldogs outscored the Hawks 50-24 in the second half and the 39-point scoring margin was the second-worst loss in head coach Steve Hawkins’ two seasons at the helm, eclipsed by the 105-63 road loss to Grand Valley State in November.

Playing without leading scorer Zion Richardson, who injured his knee on the final play of Thursday night’s loss at Upper Iowa, the Hawks shot just 25.4 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3-point range. Orlando Thomas led QU with 15 points off the bench and Foster added 13. 

Truman State had five players in double figures, led by Trey Shearer, who went 6 of 10 from 3-point range and scored 18 points. The Bulldogs’ 46.2-percent shooting from 3-point range marked the 13th time an opponent has shot 40 percent or better from the perimeter against the Hawks.

Six of Quincy’s last nine opponents shot 46 percent or better from 3-point range. The Hawks rank 11th in the league in 3-point defense, allowing 37.5 percent overall.