CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO. — (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) Another spectacular offensive outing combined with lockdown second-half defense to give Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team a second-straight road win, this one a 96-81 triumph at the Show Me Center against Southeast Missouri.

The victory moves the Governors to 14-10 on the season (9-3 OVC), while Southeast Missouri falls to 10-15 (4-8). With Austin Peay’s victory and losses by Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State, the Govs find themselves alone in third place in the OVC standings.

Senior Averyl Ugba got the afternoon off to a solid start, racking up 14 of his 16 first-half points in just the first 3:11 of action, and when he had to hit the bench with foul trouble, his teammates more than picked up the slack. Austin Peay hit eight three-pointers in the opening half en route to a season-best 51 first-half points.

However, Southeast Missouri gave is good as it got in the opening half, hitting 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the floor. The Redhawks hit seven first-half threes of their own to make it 51-49 Govs at the break.

The Redhawks were unlikely to hit better than 65 percent in back-to-back halves, and with Southeast Missouri’s shooting returning to a pedestrian 44.4 (12-of-27) in the second half, Austin Peay’s offense went from hot to scorching. The Govs upped their shooting to 58.6 percent in the second half, outscoring the Redhawks 45-32 over the final 20 minutes.

The Govs broke the game open midway through the final frame. After a Denzel Mahoney lay-up brought the Redhawks back within a bucket (64-62) with 12:55 remaining, Austin Peay embarked on a 15-2 run thanks to six points from Zach Glotta and four from Ugba. The Austin Peay lead would not dip back into single digits for the remainder of the contest.

The Governors controlled the ball to a degree rarely seen in college athletics. The Govs procured 23 assists with just 10 turnovers against Southeast Missouri; the last time Austin Peay enjoyed a game with 20 or more assists and 10 or fewer turnovers was Nov. 14, 2016 against Oakland City. Austin Peay has not done that against a Division I foe since at least the 2009-10 season.

“We had a really good week of practice. We were in the right frame of mind all week, and we were focused. This team is getting more confidence in themselves. One thing when you’re dealing with kids who aren’t used to winning, when things get hard they don’t know how to stand around and fight and that’s been a teaching process. Everything is a learning experience,” said Head Men’s Basketball Coach Matt Figger.