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Rockhurst University Athletics

Team Huddle

Men's Basketball

Hawks face 11th-ranked Bellarmine in GLVC Tournament

The Rockhurst Hawks will meet the Bellarmine Knights for the second time this season in the first round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at 6 p.m. Thursday in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Second-seeded Bellarmine (23-4) defeated the seventh-seeded Hawks 82-71 at Rockhurst back on Jan. 19. The 11th-ranked Knights connected on 28-of-32 free throws to hold off a second-half comeback by Rockhurst.

"Our guys are fired up to play Bellarmine," said Rockhurst coach Drew Diener. "We have great respect for their program and their players. They are two-time defending champions of this tournament, so we know the success they have had in this format."

The Hawks (17-11) have won seven of their last eight games to finish with an 11-7 conference record. The only loss in that stretch was a 79-71 defeat at Drury last week.

"We are playing good basketball right now. Our mentality has been a strength of ours this season," added Diener. "We have great leadership and determination. We will lean on that for the entire tournament."

Diener has guided the Hawks to a 57-53 overall record over the past four seasons. He previously enjoyed a successful six-year stint at Cardinal Stritch in Milwaukee. Stritch won the NAIA Division II national championship in 2013, and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2012.

Sophomore point guard Curtis Lewis, an All-GLVC First Team honoree, leads the team in scoring (14.6) and assists (3.6). Sophomore center Quinton Curry earned All-GLVC Second Team accolades while averaging 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

The Hawks are returning to the GLVC Tournament for the first time since 2017. The Hawks have a 1-5 record in five previous trips to the GLVC Tournament. Rockhurst also reached the GLVC Tournament in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2016.
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Players Mentioned

Quinton Curry

#44 Quinton Curry

F
6' 7"
Sophomore
Curtis Lewis

#2 Curtis Lewis

G
5' 11"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Quinton Curry

#44 Quinton Curry

6' 7"
Sophomore
F
Curtis Lewis

#2 Curtis Lewis

5' 11"
Sophomore
G