‘The first one at home just feels right’: Hawks win Hoyt’s Pepsi Arena debut as head coach

QUINCY — Brad Hoyt wasn’t expecting to be hit by a tsunami from water bottles as he entered the Quincy University men’s basketball team’s locker room Thursday night.

“I got soaked,” the Hawks’ first-year head coach said. “I think some of them refilled their bottles and got me again.”

They wanted to make the celebration as memorable as Hoyt’s first QU victory.

Despite the effort of two of his former players — Hannibal-LaGrange University juniors Joshua Talton and Braylon Diggs played for Hoyt at John Wood Community College — Quincy was able to build an eight-point lead with 10 minutes remaining and ride it to a 75-61 victory over HLGU at Pepsi Arena.

“The first one at home just feels right,” Quincy junior forward Logan Robbins said.

Especially since it came in front of a crowd of nearly 600 that exceeded expectations.

“Good turnout and good energy,” Quincy junior guard Ethyn Brown said. “I wasn’t really expecting it honestly. It was good to see the support.”

A better job locking in defensively and scoring in transition got the crowd involved in the second half.

Quincy (1-2) led 37-33 at halftime, trailed by three on two separate occasions in the second half and took the lead for good on a pair of Camren Kincaid free throws with 13:30 to play. Those points from the charity stripe sparked a 14-4 run that gave the Hawks a 61-51 lead with 8:42 remaining.

“We didn’t have a good first half, but we knew we could come out with more energy and execute,” said Brown, who led the Hawks with 16 points and three assists. “The coaches talked about executing our plays and getting into our offense more. Harder cuts, harder attacks were going to pay off.”

The Hawks played without two starters — sophomore guard Jake Hamilton and freshman guard Max Booher both were sidelined after suffering ankle injuries in practice Wednesday. However, Kincaid scored 13 points in 28 minutes, Anthony McGhee played 34 minutes and El Sieger scored 12 points off the bench.

“It forces us to step up our game and get out of our comfort zone,” Brown said. “With two starters out, that’s always hard to go through, but it gives other guys the chance to step up and show what they can do.”

Above all else, that’s grind.

“We’re starting to show grit,” Robbins said. “We’re starting to really grind and want to get stuff done. This is a tough team. I hope we can get to that point where we can really show it.”

The Trojans made the Hawks earn it. Talton, the Monroe City program, scored a game-high 19 points, knocking down 3 of 5 3-pointers to go with six rebounds and two steals. Diggs had eight points and nine rebounds, while guard Kell Estep had 16 points.

HLGU went 7 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half and just 1 of 8 in the second half.

“Our defense took control,” Robbins said. “We clamped down.”

That made Hoyt’s home debut as a head coach worth a shower.

“I told the guys in the locker room that it is not my first win here. It’s our first win here,” Hoyt said. “We’re trying to create the conversation where none of us are the main character in this thing. We’re all collectively winning together.

“Now, I appreciate their excitement. It’s good to get it done. It’s good to have that first one. But the next time I get water poured on me I want to have a trophy in my hand. Then we’ll really celebrate.”