QU men’s basketball team regains offensive rhythm in second half of victory over Maryville

ST. LOUIS — The Quincy University men’s basketball team finally regained its rhythm.

The Hawks’ continued struggles offensively — 29-percent shooting from the field and 22-percent shooting from 3-point range — left them in a seven-point hole at halftime of Saturday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference game against Maryville at Moloney Arena.

Things change at the start of the second half.

Zion Richardson sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around Mason Wujek’s two baskets in the paint to kickstart a more efficient and aggressive offensive effort that translated to 55-percent shooting down the stretch and a 71-66 victory.

It allowed the Hawks (4-4, 1-1 GLVC) to split the first weekend of conference play and come home for games against Missouri-St. Louis and McKendree with a little bit of swagger back in their step.

All they had to do was flush the first half.

Quincy scored just 25 points over the first 20 minutes, going 2 of 9 from 3-point range and struggling to once again finish, which included going to the free-throw line. The Hawks were 5 of 9 at the line in the first half and shot 58.1 percent from the stripe overall.

However, they locked down defensively. The Saints went 2 of 9 from the field with six turnovers in the first eight minutes of the second half. Overall, Maryville shot 37 percent from the field in the second half and finished with 15 total turnovers.

Meanwhile, Quincy got rolling offensively. Richardson led the Hawks with 23 points, going 8 of 14 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Isaiah Foster finished with 15 points, while Nate Shockey had 11 points and seven rebounds and Wujek ended with 10 points and six rebounds.