Hawks gets bullied on offensive boards in suffering GLVC loss to Peacocks

QUINCY — A basketball team can usually point to a few things to explain why it came up four points short.

For the Quincy University men, it was only one.

“We gave up 12 offensive rebounds,” guard Zion Richardson said. “That’s the ballgame right there.”

Upper Iowa used those opportunities to score 11 second-chance points in building a 17-point lead before holding off a furious rally by the Hawks in the closing 11 minutes Saturday afternoon to claim an 88-84 Great Lakes Valley Conference in Pepsi Arena.

Richardson scored 12 of his game-high 30 points down the stretch to enable QU to make a game of it after falling behind 71-54. Yet, despite shooting 50 percent from the field and matching the league’s highest-scoring team point-for-point from the floor, it was the inability to protect the glass that led to its undoing.

“I hate losing, but I really hate losing when it comes to something we hang our hat on,” said QU coach Steve Hawkins, whose team managed just six second-chance points on as many offensive rebounds and was outscored 16-12 from the free-throw line.

“The way they got their lead was how they ended up winning the game, the offensive rebounds in the first 30 minutes. They weren’t a great offensive rebounding team, but in this game they were.”

Featuring the GLVC’s leading scorer in guard Jake Hilmer, as well as two other players averaging in double figures, the big, physical and fast-paced Peacocks came in scoring just shy of 90 points per game.

Hilmer was held in check early as the score was tied three times and the lead changed hands on seven occasions in the first half, with Hawks last in front at 25-24 after a 3-pointer by Isaiah Foster from the top of the circle with 8:28 left.

Hilmer, who finished with 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting, hit back-to-back jumpers from the circle to give Upper Iowa the lead for good. Richardson did his best to keep QU close, scoring 12 points over the final seven minutes.

Yet, a 3-pointer from the right corner by 6-foot-9 forward Caleb Delzell gave the Peacocks a 49-42 advantage at halftime.

The Hawks came into the game allowing just 67.5 points per game, the third-best scoring defense in the GLVC.

“That has a lot to do with the pace of play,” Hawkins said. “Their defense allows you to take good shots early in the clock, and we took good shots. And they’re going to take quick shots. Eventually, you’re going to get your points because there’s so many possessions.”

QU struck first in the second half on a jumper by Richardson, but Upper Iowa managed three offensive rebounds on one possession before 6-5 forward Kyle Hrncir hit a layup to cap a 7-0 run to make it 56-44.

Hrncir, the team leader in that category but not normally a scorer, finished with four offensive rebounds and 13 points.

With Hilmer, Delzell and Noah King hitting 3-pointers from the perimeter and 6-foot-11 Ethan Steinbronn muscling up inside, the Peacocks steadily pushed the lead to 71-54.

“They were (physical), but we knew that coming in,” Richardson said. “We want to be the toughest team versus anybody we play. We didn’t hold to that standard.”

The Hawks didn’t quit, however. Behind the scoring of Richardson, they cut the deficit to 78-72 on a driving bank shot by Jake Hamilton off a steal with 5:20 remaining, only to see the Peacocks score six straight points to regain control.

With Upper Iowa missing half of its eight free throws down the stretch, QU used two buckets by Mason Wujek, 3-pointers by Nate Shockey and Orlando Thomas, and two free throws by Richardson to get as close at 87-84 with 20 seconds to go.

“If we had played that way for 40 minutes, we would have won the game,” said Richardson, who made 12 of 19 field goal tries and all six free throws, while also contributing eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Instead, the Hawks had their two-game winning streak snapped to fall to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in the GLVC ahead of this Saturday’s road test against Illinois-Springfield. They have split all four weekend conference doubleheaders.

John Kelly III finished with 11 points and Foster 10 for QU, which outscored Upper Iowa 40-26 in the paint. In addition to Hilmer and Hrncir, King had 17 points and Delzell 13 for the Peacocks (9-5, 4-2 GLVC).

“We’re young and they’re learning the hard way,” Hawkins said. “Every single possession matters, every minute matters, every turnover matters, every offensive rebound matters.

“We’ve got quite a few conference games left before we get to the conference tournament. It’s a matter of being consistent in every single area.”