QUINCY, Ill. – Jyrus Freels recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Purdue Northwest fell 81-70 to Quincy inside Pepsi Arena on Saturday night.
HEAD COACH BOOMER ROBERTS:
"Quincy is a good team, and we had opportunities but we couldn't close. They got some timely loose balls and executed better than we did down the stretch, and free throw shooting continues to hurt us. We're a good shooting team so I know those numbers will turn.
We've got a team that stays in the gym and works, and that's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to work and get better."
STAT LEADERS
- Jyrus Freels logged his second double-double of the season. He shot 11 of 15 from the field and grabbed 10 boards including a season-high four on the offensive glass
- Sangolay Njie scored a career-high 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with six boards. He started 7 of 8 from the field and scored eight consecutive points off the bench in the first half
- Anthony Irvin reached double digits for the third straight game with 11 points
- Caleb Zurliene tied his career-high of seven boards with six points, two assists and two blocks
- Jonte Coleman handed out a career-high six assists with five points
How it happened: PNW (2-3) led by as much as 11 in the first half, but cold shooting and turnovers proved too costly in the second stanza.
After Quincy scored the opening basket of the game, PNW took the lead on Irvin's first of two 3-pointers and the Pride would stay in front for over 16 minutes in the first half. PNW put together a 10-3 run, which was fueled by eight consecutive points from Njie, to take a 19-11 lead near the 13-minute mark in the opening frame.
Then, the Pride kept the momentum going with hot shooting, extending their lead to as much as 11 following three straight shots made by Irvin, Freels and Zurliene to give PNW a 31-20 advantage.
Quincy would claw back to regain the lead briefly following a 17-4 stretch for the hosts, but Freels stopped the bleeding with a layup. With a minute left in the half, Coleman put the Pride back in front with a three and then a putback layup from Phillips at the halftime buzzer put the Pride ahead 42-39 at the break. PNW shot 60% in the first half while holding Quincy to 43% overall and just 18% from three-point range.
Unfortunately, for the second straight game, it was a tale of two halves in terms of shot-making for the Pride. PNW would go 0 for 11 from beyond the arc half while shooting 37.5% and getting outscored 42-28 in the final period. The Pride held the slight edge in rebounding on the night, 36-34, but Quincy only turned it over nine times compared to 17 turnovers committed by PNW.
The two teams exchanged blows most of the way as the physicality picked up in the final half.
PNW's last lead was 52-51 with just over 12 minutes left, and then Quincy took control with a 64-58 advantage for its largest lead up to that point. A driving layup from Steinman sliced the deficit to two and then PNW had a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line with seven minutes left, but couldn't convert. A 3-pointer on Quincy's next possession swung the momentum back in the Hawks' favor for good.
Zurliene's layup at the 5:30 mark cut the Quincy lead to three, but that was as close as the Pride would get.
Quincy's Malik Hardmon led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He finished with eight boards and went 7 of 9 at the line. Three others scored in double figures for the Hawks, including Paul Zilinskas and Jamaurie Coakley each with 13 and Adam Moore with 10 points.
The all-time series between the two teams is now tied at 1-1. PNW won the first meeting in Hammond two years ago, 75-68.
UP NEXT
PNW returns home to the Fitness & Recreation Center next Wednesday to host Union University (TN) at 2 p.m. CST.
FOLLOW THE PRIDE
For all the latest information on Purdue Northwest men's basketball, please visit PNWathletics.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Pride (@pnwathletics & @PNWBasketball) on Twitter. You can also find the Pride on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
