CLARKSVILLE, Tenn — (ESPN Clarksville) With all five starters in double figures, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team was able to fend off a tough Tennessee State squad in an 89-74 decision in the Dunn Center, Thursday.
The contest had far-reaching implications around the conference; with the win and losses to previously unbeaten Murray State and Jacksonville State, Austin Peay (14-6, 6-1 OVC) finds itself once more in prime position in the Ohio Valley Conference race. Tennessee State (5-14, 2-5) could not slow down the Govs despite a solid night on their end of the court.
Tennessee State averages nearly 25 fouls per night—last in the nation—for a reason, and it showed in the first half. Very few Austin Peay forays into the paint went uncontested; any time a Governor ventured into the paint, the defense converged to alter the shot—or failing at that, the Tigers made their presence felt the old-fashioned way, by bodying up the Govs and turning the contest into an ugly interior battle of wills.
With the post game devolving into a physical slugfest in the paint, Austin Peay relied on the perimeter prowess of Zach Glotta and the midrange game of Chris Porter-Bunton to stake a 10-point lead into the break.
Terry Taylor had a quiet first half, but he more than made up for it in the second. Even though the Bowling Green native didn’t hit his first shot from the floor until 15:11 remained in the second half, his very presence always had to be accounted for. When he wasn’t scoring (NUMBER) of his (TOTAL) points over the final 20 minutes, he was setting up teammates with passes out of double teams on one end and controlling the glass and protecting the rim on the other.
One of his favored targets in the final frame was Jarrett Givens. The grad transfer helped the Govs extend their lead early in the second thanks to a pair of threes and a pair of old-school three-point plays; by the midway point in the half, the Austin Peay lead was at 14.
Tennessee State wasn’t going away; the Tigers cut the deficit to single digits with 6:45 to go on a Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey three. But immediately following a timeout, Taylor sank a jumper in the paint to put the lead back in double-digits for the remainder of the game; the Govs outscored Tennessee State 19-12 over the final six and a half minutes of play.