The Rockhurst Hawks (5-3) meet the Emporia State Hornets (5-3) for the sixth year in a row Saturday at Mason-Halpin Field House. The Hornets pulled away for an 82-65 win over the Hawks last year in Emporia, Kansas.
Emporia State leads the all-time series 47-31 and has won four of the last five meetings. The two teams met in the 1964 NAIA Tournament national semifinals.
Sophomore forward
Quinton Curry leads the Hawks in scoring (14.5 pg) and rebounding (5.8 pg). Curry ranks 16th in scoring, 12th in rebounding and third in field goal percentage (63.9) in the GLVC. Sophomore guard
Chris Hamil stands 23rd in scoring (13.9 pg), fifth in 3-point field goals (2.63 pg) and 11th in steals (1.50 pg).
Sophomore guard
Curtis Lewis ranks fourth in assists (5.0 pg) and 15th in free throw percentage (80.6) in the GLVC. Senior forward
Connor Evans is sixth in steals (1.63 pg) and sixth in blocked shots (1.0 pg) in the GLVC. Freshman forward
Nick Volz ranks second in field goal percentage (69.4) in the GLVC.
Hamil connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:40 left to lead Rockhurst to a 75-69 victory over Benedictine on Dec. 5 at Mason-Halpin. Hamil led the Hawks with 18 points and four rebounds. Curry finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Volz posted 11 points and seven rebounds.
Eddie Muench and
Auston Rushing came off the bench to each score nine points on three 3-pointers.
Tyler Garrett tallied eight points, four steals and three assists. Lewis added six points, five assists and seven rebounds.
Emporia State fell 86-78 at Fort Hays State last Saturday. Malik Hluchoweckyj had 20 points and seven rebounds to lead the Hornets while Justin Jackson had a team-high 21 points. Four Hornets are averaging double figures. Kooper Glick is averaging 14.5 points per game followed by Malik Hluchoweckyj at 14.0 points per game. Justin Washington leads the Hornets with 6.0 rebounds per game and adds 9.8 points per game. Craig Doty is in his first season as the head coach at Emporia State. In six seasons as a head coach at the NAIA and NJCAA level he went 166-53 with three national championships.
