Hawks’ Booher shoots way to GLVC Freshman of the Year recognition

QUINCY — Max Booher announced his presence with a bang.

A freshman guard on the Quincy University men’s basketball team, Booher came off the bench in collegiate debut and made 5 of 7 3-pointers and scored a team-leading 21 points in the season-opening loss to Findlay. After that, he kept right on shooting.

Booher made at least four 3-pointers in five of his first eight games and eight times overall in becoming a focal point for opposing defenses, which led to him earning the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.

The 6-foot-4 Booher averaged a team-leading 13 points per game, while shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range as he knocked down 66 of 164 attempted treys. He also shot 80 percent from the free-throw line, while finishing fourth in the GLVC in 3-point shooting percentage and sixth in 3-pointers made per game.

“He’s worked at and done all the right things and fit into the role we needed from him this year,” Quincy coach Brad Hoyt said. “I’m really proud of him and the work that he did.”

Booher, who was also named to the all-freshman team, was the only QU player to receive any GLVC postseason accolades. The Hawks finished 10-18 overall and 5-15 in the GLVC in Hoyt’s first season at the helm.

Booher is the second QU men’s basketball player to receive the GLVC Freshman of the Year honor. Brian McNeil, a Quincy Notre Dame graduate, was named the league’s top freshman in 2000.