Nationally ranked Greyhounds deny Hawks chance for season sweep

INDIANAPOLIS — There was no sneaking up on the University of Indianapolis a second time.

The Greyhounds outscored the Quincy University men’s basketball team 14-8 over the final four minutes Saturday afternoon to post a 76-70 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory at Nicoson Hall.

The victory was the 14th straight for seventh-ranked Indianapolis (20-2, 12-2 GLVC), which sits three games ahead of second-place Missouri-St. Louis in the league standings.

One of the Greyhounds’ losses came at the hands of the Hawks, who won the first meeting 62-57 on Nov. 26 in Pepsi Arena. However, a season sweep wasn’t to be.

After two free throws by Zion Richardson with 4:18 remaining tied the game at 62 — the sixth tie of the game — the Greyhounds’ Jesse Bingham answered with a jumper from the paint.

After Richardson missed two free throws, Bingham hit a layup to make it 66-62 with 3:26 remaining. QU missed its next three shots, and a jumper by Josiah Tynes — his only make in six tries — gave Indianapolis a 68-62 lead with 1:12 left.

Two free throws by Malik Hardmon pulled the Hawks within 68-64, but a dunk by Kendrick Tchoua and two free throws by Jakobie Robinson pushed the advantage to 72-64 with 29 seconds to go.

Two more free throws by Robinson with 20 seconds left after a Jamaurie Coakley jumper maintained the eight-point advantage.

The Hawks led by as many as four points in the early going, but never led after David Ejah’s 3-pointer with 12:47 remaining in the first half tied the game at 13.

Indianapolis pushed its lead to seven points late in the first half before a 3-pointer by Isaiah Foster pulled the Hawks within 36-32 at halftime. The Greyhounds twice pushed their advantage to eight points early in the second half, only to have Foster cut it to 45-44 with another 3-pointer with 14:11 to go.

The Hawks managed to tie the game twice but could never retake the lead.

Bingham led four Indianapolis players in double figures with 18 points. Tchoua finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Robinson and Jarvis Walker had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Richardson led QU with 14 points and Solomon Gustafson added 12. The team’s two leading scorers — Hardmon and Paul Zilinskas — combined for just 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting from the floor.

The Hawks are now 13-10 overall and 9-6 in the GLVC, good for a third-place tie with William Jewell. They begin a three-game homestand next Saturday against Illinois-Springfield.