Hawks fall in overtime in GLVC opener after Lions rally late in regulation

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Having seen its second-half lead evaporate, be regained and nearly vanish again, all the Quincy University men’s basketball team needed was one defensive stop to steal a Great Lakes Valley Conference road victory.

A carom, a whistle and two free throws negated that.

Lindenwood took advantage of its second chance. After forcing overtime when Brandon Trimble made two free throws with .2 seconds remaining in regulation, the Lions took the lead for good on Jacoby Ross’ 3-pointer in the extra season and held on for a 91-87 victory Thursday night at Hyland Arena.

“I thought we deserved to win,” a dejected Quincy coach Ryan Hellenthal said. “I loved our effort. I loved the way we fought. I thought we deserved to win.”

The Hawks (4-3, 0-1 GLVC) went into their league opener without two starters. Junior forward Malik Hardmon, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and 18.8 points and seven rebounds per game, and senior guard Charles Callier were forced to sit due to COVID-19 protocols.

Yet, the Hawks bolted to a 7-2 lead in the first two minutes and extended the lead to as many as 11 points before going to halftime up 34-27. That advantage was gone in just four minutes, and the Lions surged to a 47-42 edge on Kevin Caldwell Jr.’s jumper with 12:42 to go.

Here came the Hawks with a rally. Mark Bradshaw Jr. and Nate Shockey hit three consecutive 3-pointers to regain the lead, and when Bradshaw knocked down his fifth trey of the game with 5:34 to play, Quincy led 71-60.

An 8-0 run by the Lions trimmed the deficit to three with 2:30 remaining, but things became chaotic in the final 90 seconds.

The Hawks led 73-68 before Trimble made a 3-pointer with 1:14 to play. After Bradshaw answered with a jumper, the Lions’ Brandon Suggs was fouled while scoring at the rim and had the chance for a 3-point play. His free throw attempt bounced off the rim, but QU’s Adam Moore was whistled for a foul for undercutting Romelo Burrell on the rebound.

Burrell made both free throws to tie the game with 29 seconds remaining.

Shockey scored with 9.4 seconds remaining to give the Hawks a 77-75 lead, and Caldwell missed a shot in the lane on the Lions’ ensuing possession. However, no one boxed out Trimble, who grabbed the rebound from the high post and was fouled just before time expired.

He calmly made both free throws.

“We just didn’t secure the rebound at the end of the game,” Hellenthal said. “We have to secure that rebound and finish this thing off.”

In overtime, Lindenwood took the lead for good with 2:50 to play and made 7 of 8 free throws to maintain the advantage.

Shockey led the Hawks with 27 points and four assists, while Bradshaw had 25 points on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range and Moore finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds while playing all 45 minutes. 

The Hawks committed just nine turnovers and shot 48 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from 3-point range, but the free-throw discrepancy hurt. The Lions outscored the Hawks 19-3 at the line and attempted 18 more free throws.

Ross led the Lions with 24 points, while Burrell and Caldwell had 21 apiece.