By DON O'BRIEN

Herald-Whig Sports Editor

More than anyone else at Pepsi Arena on Saturday afternoon, Andre Muse was happy to see the "old" Andre Muse back in action.

Muse, a senior guard for the Quincy University men's basketball team, returned to the high-scoring form he showed earlier this season when he became the first player in program history to record back-to-back-to-back 30-point games.

He drilled shots from behind the 3-point arc, took the ball to the basket and left Southern Indiana defenders helpless against his fade-away jumpers.

"It was definitely kind of a glimpse of what I was doing earlier in the year," said Muse, who finished with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. "It felt good to get back to that. It felt good to win by actually doing it this time."

Muse's return to form helped the Hawks pick up a key Great Lakes Valley Conference win.

QU (13-12, 7-10) pulled into a tie for third place in the GLVC West Division standings thanks to a 73-62 victory over the Screaming Eagles, the team's fourth straight win.

It was Muse's first game of more than 20 points since he dropped 22 in a win over Harris-Stowe on Dec. 20.

Going into Saturday's game, Muse had six games of at least 20 points, but QU was only 2-4 in those games, including losses in all three games he had scored at least 30. He made some timely shots, too.

Southern Indiana (13-12, 7-10) had cut a 10-point QU halftime lead to nothing when Anthony Pimble threw down a dunk off a steal to tie the game at 46 with 11 minutes, 25 seconds left to play. A pair of free throws by Muse with 9:25 to play snapped the tie.

Muse then fed Cameron Murkey for a fast-break basket after a steal on USI's next possession. He hit a pair of baskets, including a 15-foot jumper from the right wing with 6:39 remaining to cap a 13-3 run, which gave the Hawks a 59-49 lead.

That was plenty of cushion as USI didn't get any closer than eight points down the stretch.

"We're playing better as a unit, and I think everyone is playing better," said QU coach Marty Bell. "The guys are starting to get back into their comfort zone and playing with a lot more confidence.

"(Muse) got the ball to the rim tonight. When Andre gets the ball to the rim, he's a real effective layer. He got some rhythm going early and I think our guys recognized that he was shooting the ball and got him some shots."

The Hawks were far from a one-man show, though.

Murkey added 16 points, and Austin Chapital had 12 points and eight rebounds. Josh Edmonds added eight points off the bench, while Marlon Jackson came off the bench to hand out four assists.

"We know if we lose, that we're out," Muse said. "We have to keep that in mind and go out and play. We have to go out hard."

QU and USI are tied for the third and final automatic GLVC Tournament bid in the West Division. Thanks to its season sweep of USI -- the first in program history -- the Hawks have the tiebreaker on the Screaming Eagles.

QU closes out its regular season with home games against Rockhurst and league-leading Drury next week.

-- dobrien@whig.com/221-3365