Truman Game Notes (.PDF)
Quincy Game Notes
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Rematch is here. The Truman men's basketball team will take on archrival Quincy in the 2016-17 regular-season finale on Thursday inside Pershing Arena with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. Right now, the Hawks have already clinched at least a share of the GLVC West Division title and are one game ahead of the Bulldogs for first place. The last time these two teams met was on Dec. 10 in Illinois and Quincy won a thriller 91-90 when
Nathan Messer's buzzer-beating three-point attempt came up short. In that game, the Bulldogs led by as many as six, 82-76, with just over seven minutes to play. After that, there were three more ties, three more lead changes and Truman had two chances to take the lead including the shot at the buzzer.
Going back to this past week, Truman ran its winning streak to three in a row with a pair of victories over the likes of William Jewell, 92-86, and Rockhurst, 95-84. Redshirt senior,
Connor Erickson, led the Bulldogs by averaging 22.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while shooting 53.1 percent from the field. With those two wins, the Bulldogs swept the season series against both the Cardinals and Hawks (4-0).
Monday, Erickson became the second Bulldog to be named GLVC Player of the Week joining
Cory Myers back on Jan. 22. During the month of February, Erickson has averaged 20.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and one steal per contest while making an even 60 percent of his looks from the floor (48-for-80). Prior to this month, Erickson had three games with 20 or more points. Since then? Five of them.
Scouting the Hawks
Before these two teams met in December for the 119th time in school history, Truman had defeated Quincy eight times in a row. That 91-90 win for the Hawks earlier this season put them ahead by one in the all-time series, 60-59. That's just how close this rivalry has been over the years and that's just how much these two teams don't like each other. At all.
This season, the 14th with head coach, Marty Bell, at the helm, Quincy is 23-5 overall with a mark of 13-4 in GLVC play. The Hawks have been led by three-time GLVC Player of the Week and senior forward, Joseph Tagarelli. The Waunakee, Wis. native is averaging 19.9 points (second in the league) and 8.4 rebounds (tied for second in the league) per game. When Truman and Quincy met in December, Tagarelli had quite the night with 29 points, 17 boards, three assists, and two steals in 31 minutes on the court.
Tagarelli is one of four Hawks putting up at least 10 points per contest including Evan McGaughey (17.0), Von Washington III (13.9) and Herm Senor II (11.5). Senor II is one of the top assist men in the league as his 6.3 dimes per night are tied for first in the conference with Kendale McCullum of Wisconsin-Parkside. With that being said, Senor II's assist-to-turnover ratio is only 1.8, which is 12th-best in the GLVC.
As a team, Quincy is third in the league in scoring offense (86.2) and seventh in scoring defense (75.6). The Hawks boast the second-best field goal percentage in the GLVC with a clip of 51.5 percent, behind only Bellarmine's absurd 53.6 percent. Quincy is a middle-of-the-road team when it comes to shooting the three (36.9 percent/10th) and is in the lower half for free throw percentage as well (71 percent/12th).
Last Time Out
The Truman men's basketball team trailed Quincy 91-90 with the length of the court in front of them and just 2.9 ticks on the clock. The Bulldogs drew up a play for three-point assassin,
Nathan Messer, but his three-point look from the left wing came up short as the buzzer sounded. Truman led by as many as six, 82-76, with just over seven minutes to play. Then, there were three more ties, three more lead chances and the Bulldogs had two chances to take the lead including the shot at the buzzer.
Jake Velky went off for a career-high 35 points and was one of five in double-figures including Messer (14),
Cory Myers (12),
Connor Erickson (12), and
Dwight Sistrunk, Jr. (10).
Previous 10 Meetings
December 10, 2016: L, 90-91
February 25, 2016: W, 83-82
December 15, 2015: W, 91-76
March 1, 2015: W, 84-64
February 26, 2015: W, 103-85
December 6, 2014: W, 91-76
February 27, 2014: W, 89-85
December 7, 2013: W, 79-68
December 18, 2012: W, 76-50
November 20, 2012: L, 60-62
Running the Show
Truman and Quincy each have one of the best point guards in all of the GLVC. For the Bulldogs, it's
Dwight Sistrunk, Jr., and for the Hawks, it's Herm Senor II. Among the league's rankings, Sistrunk Jr. is tied for first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8), second in fewest turnovers per game (1.6), fourth in fewest turnovers (43), fifth in total assists (121), and tied for sixth in assists per game (4.5). On the other side, Senor II is first in total assists (175), tied for first in assists per game (6.3) and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8). The one thing that separates the two is Senor II's tendency to turn the ball over. He is first in the league in total turnovers with 97 and is first in turnovers per contest with 3.5. He can run the show for Quincy, but he also likes to give it away and help the other team.
Record Watch
When looking at the program's record book for marks by a team in a single season, Truman is currently first or tied for first in scoring average (87.4), field goal percentage (.500), three-point field goals made (290), three-point field goal percentage (.425), and free throw percentage (.741). The Bulldogs are also fourth in three-pointers attempted (682), fifth in total points (2,361), 10th in steals per game (7.4), and tied for 10th in blocks per game (2.9).
Next Up
Depending on what happens in this game and across the GLVC, Truman may or may not be hosting for the first round of the GLVC Tournament on Sunday. If the Bulldogs do host, the game will begin at 3 p.m. in Pershing Arena. If they don't host and get a bye to the quarterfinals, they will begin play in the conference tournament on March 2 in Evansville, Ind.
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