Hawks struggle to match Seawolves’ toughness, shooting prowess in loss

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The start was perfect. The follow-up wasn’t.

Now, the Quincy University men’s basketball team has to regroup in a hurry.

After spending the first four days of the Thanksgiving week trip practicing and doing their best to embrace the single-digit temperature cold, the Hawks looked like they found their snow legs by opening Saturday’s game against Alaska-Anchorage on a 6-0 run.

The Seawolves responded with a 10-0 run, then put together a 15-4 surge late in the first half to take complete control in what turned out to be an 81-66 victory in the Seawolves Thanksgiving Classic at Alaska Airlines Center.

“They just outtoughed us,” QU coach Ryan Hellenthal said. “We got off to a great start. They hit us with a haymaker and put us to the mat a little bit. Our legs buckled and we flinched. We knew they had that ability. That’s an NCAA Tournament team, and to play with a team like that, we have to be able to respond.”

Defensively, that’s vitally important.

The Seawolves went 7 of 15 from 3-point range in the first half and were 11 of 27 overall. The Hawks were just 4 of 20 from 3-point range. Overall, Anchorage shot 46.2 percent from the field.

Malik Hardmon led the Hawks with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Paul Zilinskas added 12 points. Hunter Sweet went 6 of 9 from 3-point range and led the Seawolves with a game-high 30 points.

“They shot the heck out of it,” Hellenthal said. “We talked about closing out the shooters. It became a toughness game, and we didn’t have enough of it.”

The Hawks (3-2) will wrap up the trip at 5 p.m. Sunday against Alaska-Fairbanks, which upset Hawaii-Hilo 76-67. Hilo was ranked 19th in the NCAA Division II national poll.

“It’s a quick turnaround,” Hellenthal said. “We have to prove we have some toughness.”