Peacocks shoot down Hawks’ second-half rally, earn milestone victory for Upper Iowa coach

QUINCY — Brooks McKowen seemed less concerned about the water dripping from his dress pants than finding a way to dry off his children.

“I was trying to keep my kids out of the water, to be honest with you, because we got to drive home now,” McKowen said with a chuckle.

A celebratory moment with dad was well worth wet clothes after McKowen earned his 200th victory as the Upper Iowa men’s basketball coach thanks to an 88-78 victory over Quincy University at Pepsi Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Following the conference clash, McKowen was met with a water shower from his players. Once he saw the number 200 written on the white board in the visiting locker room McKowen had a sense of what was coming and there was no way he could avoid it.

“They’re faster than me, so they would have chased me out of the locker room and caught me at some point,” McKowen said of his players.

For Quincy, there were no high-fives or post-game shenanigans. The Hawks fought uphill from beginning to end but did cut a 20-point second half deficit down to a two-possession game, at 81-75 with 2:25 remaining. But QU didn’t get any closer and got swept in the season series with the Peacocks.

“I was really proud of the group that played in the second half, and sort of their toughness and a little bit of resilience,” Hawks coach Brad Hoyt said. “That’s something we’re trying to get better at. So that was a good sign.”

It was the sluggish start that Quincy (7-8, 2-5 GLVC) will remember as the determining factor in the outcome. The Hawks trailed 47-31 at halftime and made just 13 of 33 field goal attempts (39.4 percent) in the first 20 minutes. Upper Iowa converted nearly half of its first half shots (18 of 37) and went 8 of 18 from beyond the arc over the same span.

“We dug a hole in the first half. We had a long stretch of just bad offense in that first half,” QU sophomore guard Jake Hamilton said. “We came out in the second half, got it out in transition, stayed out of the half court a little bit, and we were scoring at will. (But) you can’t get down like that with a team like that.”

Hawks freshman guard Max Booher was disappointed in the final score but optimistic after Quincy’s strong second half.

“It hurts, but I’m glad that we played good in the second half,” Booher said. “It’s something to build off of.”

Booher and junior guard El Sieger each had 15 points to lead the Hawks, while Hamilton added 14 points and junior forward Josh Bocher had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.

Upper Iowa senior forward Nick Reid, the GLVC’s top scorer at 23.5 points per game, finished with a game-high 29 points and pulled down 10 boards. 

“He had to take over and be the man,” McKowen said of Reid.

Whenever the Peacocks (12-5, 6-3 GLVC) needed a basket down the stretch, they got the ball in Reid’s hands. He scored Upper Iowa’s final seven points of the contest.

“(Reid) is a good player. He’s a tough matchup,” Hoyt said. “But there’s a reason that he’s having the year he’s having and I’m glad we don’t play him again in the regular season.”

Upper Iowa junior guard Noah King, who entered the affair fifth in the GLVC in scoring (16.5 ppg), made 10 of 15 field goal attempts and wound up with 25 points, and freshman guard Gavin Hershberger added 14.

The Hawks committed only one turnover and outscored the Peacocks 47-41 in the second half and will try to ride that momentum into a busy week to come.

“I think we are heading in the right direction,” Booher said. “We had a really good week of practice, and everyone is super confident. We’re all confident in each other. We trust each other. The coaches trust us, and I think we’ll be fine.”

Quincy’s four-game homestand over a seven-day period continues Monday night against UMSL, before the Hawks host William Jewell on Thursday and Truman State next Saturday.

“We’re certainly not where I want to be, but we’re probably on the right path,” said Hoyt, whose team slipped to 4-3 at home this season. “We’re on the right progression because there’s steps to this thing. There’s not just snap your finger and all of a sudden figure it out. I think we’re slowly but surely on the right path.”