LOUISVILLE, KY (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Austin Peay men’s basketball team was in Louisville on Saturday to take on the Bellarmine Knights in the final game of the regular season. In the first meeting between these teams just two weeks ago, the Govs came away with an impressive 20-point win.

This was an important game for the Govs because, with a win, the team would’ve clinched the outright ASUN regular season title. A loss, however, would have meant Austin Peay and Central Arkansas shared the title, since Central Arkansas won on Saturday.

Austin Peay was also hoping to bounce back after losing to Central Arkansas on Wednesday. Instead, the Govs dropped their second game in a row and third conference game of the season on Saturday, falling 111-97.

“Sometimes it’s good to get your butt kicked,” head coach Corey Gipson bluntly said after the game.

Recap and analysis

There wasn’t much defense to speak of from either team in Saturday’s game. At halftime, the score was 48-46 Bellarmine, and then the Knights scored a whopping 61 points in the second half while the Govs scored 53.

For Austin Peay, big man Rashaud Marshall had a career day. The junior racked up 37 points, surpassing his previous season-high of 27. Marshall also added two rebounds, two steals, and three assists.

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Elsewhere, the Govs got an incredible offensive outburst from true freshman Tyler Wagner. Wagner hadn’t been featured in the rotation much during conference play, but the guard played 25 minutes today and ended with a career-high 20 points with six made three-pointers.

After the game, Gipson noted that it was always the plan to get Wagner in the game today.

“We’ve seen him grow; he’s made great strides, great improvements,” Gipson said. “He’s going to play a lot down the stretch in the conference tournament.”

Additionally, Gipson mentioned that senior guard Matt Enright is expected to play a larger role in the conference tournament as well. Enright played sparingly in February, seeing five minutes against Lipscomb at the beginning of the month and two minutes on Saturday at Bellarmine.

While the offense played well, putting up 97 points, the defensive effort was concerning. The Govs have now given up 93-plus points in two consecutive games. Before the Central Arkansas game, the Govs hadn’t given up more than 87 points in a conference game.

What’s next for the Govs?

With Saturday’s loss, the Govs will enter the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed with a 21-8 overall record and a 15-3 mark in conference play.

This means the Govs’ first tournament game will be on Friday, March 6, at 4 p.m. The Govs will play the winner of the first-round matchup between the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds.

Even though the regular season didn’t end how the Govs wanted it to, there are still reasons to be optimistic. The team earned its first regular-season title since 2008 and can still earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament if they run the table in Jacksonville.

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