KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Rockhurst used a barrage of second half free throws to defeat Truman State 92-74 Saturday afternoon at Pershing Arena. The Hawks improved to 16-5 overall and 10-3 in conference play, while the Bulldogs fell to 8-12 (5-7).
The first half featured competitive basketball with multiple momentum swings. Truman State got on the board first when Ja'Vion Byers made one of two free throws at 18:36 to cut Rockhurst's early lead to 2-1. Quientan McCafferty hit a three-pointer at 16:52, assisted by Drew Kingery, to bring the Bulldogs within one at 7-6.
Later on, Julian Brown stole the ball and converted a fast-break driving layup at 14:46 to make it 13-8, and Brown added another driving layup at 13:37 to cut the deficit to 15-10. After Byers hit a pull-up jumper at 12:37, the Bulldogs trailed 16-12. Troy Anderson made a driving layup at 9:43, assisted by Emmanuel Byrd, to pull the Bulldogs within one at 16-15.
Marquis Carver-Smith then connected on a three-pointer at 7:49, assisted by Jahki Parrinello, to bring Truman within two at 20-18. Kingery followed with his own three-pointer at 4:42, assisted by Justin Duff, cutting the lead to 27-23. The Bulldogs then closed out the half with Kingery's offensive putback at the buzzer to cut Rockhurst's halftime lead to 39-34.
The second half started with the teams trading baskets. Byers made a step-back jumper at 18:08 to bring Truman within seven at 43-36. After McCafferty scored on a driving layup at 17:24, assisted by Anderson, the deficit stood at 45-38.
A crucial sequence came when Jaden Flournoy received two technical fouls at 16:56. Kingery made three of four free throws from the technicals, and Parrinello converted both of his free throws from the original foul to cut the lead to 47-43. Parrinello then drove for a layup at 16:20 to make it 50-45. Byers then hit a fast-break driving layup at 14:54 and followed with a three-pointer at 14:28, assisted by Anderson, to tie the game at 50-50. Kingery's pull-up jumper at 13:34, assisted by Byrd, knotted the score at 52-52. After Kingery hit a three-pointer at 10:09, assisted by Anderson, Truman State led 62-58, their largest advantage of the game.
However, Rockhurst responded with a devastating run. Jaylen Wesley, who finished with a game-high 33 points, and Drenin Dinkins, who added 28 points, sparked the Hawks' comeback. Wesley made a three-pointer at 13:20, assisted by Dinkins, to give Rockhurst a 55-52 lead.
The Hawks pulled away with an 14-0 run that pushed their lead to double digits. Dinkins converted a floating jumper at 8:41 to make it 66-62, and Wesley's layup at 8:09 extended the margin to 68-62. Dinkins made two free throws at 6:39 to push the lead to 72-64, and his three-pointer at 6:09, assisted by Dillon Mong, ballooned the advantage to 75-64. Truman State never was able to regain momentum, and an intentional foul called led to four Wesley free throws that extended Rockhurst's lead.
Rockhurst's largest lead came at 21 points (92-71) with 20 seconds remaining. The Hawks shot an impressive 91.9% from the free-throw line (34-37) and won the battle of the paint 38-30.
For Truman State, Byers led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. Kingery added 16 points, while Byrd contributed 15 rebounds to lead all rebounders.
Team Statistics Comparison
| Category |
Truman State |
Rockhurst |
| Field Goals |
28-64 (43.8%) |
26-57 (45.6%) |
| 3-Point FGs |
8-23 (34.8%) |
6-19 (31.6%) |
| Free Throws |
10-13 (76.9%) |
34-37 (91.9%) |
| Total Rebounds |
26 |
42 |
| Offensive Rebounds |
4 |
9 |
| Assists |
14 |
10 |
| Turnovers |
8 |
7 |
| Steals |
4 |
5 |
| Blocks |
3 |
2 |
| Points in Paint |
30 |
38 |
| Fast Break Points |
10 |
18 |
| Second Chance Points |
2 |
10 |
| Bench Points |
16 |
8 |
Truman State Statistical Leaders
Points
Rebounds
Assists
Steals
Blocks
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will look to get back on track on a road trip that features the second matchups of the season against Drury and Southwest Baptist. Truman State won the home game against Drury 86-79 back on December 4th.
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