Edwardsville, Illinois — (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) Chris Porter-Bunton tied a career high, as Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team downed SIU Edwardsville 86-82 enroute to securing an opening round bye in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
On the Cougars senior night, Austin Peay (17-12, 12-5 OVC) looked to play celebration spoiler, but the evening got off to a rocky start, as SIU Edwardsville (9-19, 5-12 OVC) jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Chris Porter-Bunton stopped the Cougar run with a smooth runner in the lane, as the Govs leaned on their near perfection at the free-throw line for an 11-point lift in the first 15 minutes of the half.
The Governors continued to crank up the offensive pressure, but were unable to string together defensive stops until the final two minutes of the first half. Austin Peay rattled off an 8-0 run to bring the once 11-point margin to just a single point. Porter-Bunton was the only Gov in double figures at the half, with 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
It was night and day for the Govs in the second half, a different energy and intensity, as the Governors shot 63.0 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from three-point territory. The Cougars spent much of the second half navigating foul trouble, and Austin Peay took full advantage of the rotating matchups, spreading the offense, as five Governors worked their way into double digits.
Porter-Bunton and Zach Glotta approached career nights, but the Cougars clawed back into the matchup, eliminating the Govs’ eight-point lead late in the second half. The game was tied heading into the final minute of regulation, but Porter-Bunton was determined not to let the first round bye slip away, draining a three-point shot to give the Govs a crucial lead.
Glotta iced the game going 3-for-3 from the free throw line down the stretch, as the Govs topped the Cougars in four-point thriller, 86-82.
Four of the five starters ended in double figures, with Porter-Bunton leading the Govs with 23 points and four rebounds, shooting 70.0 percent from the floor. Averyl Ugba scored 16 points, pulled down five rebounds and racked up four assists in 38 minutes of play.
Dayton Gumm racked up 12 points and three assists, while freshman Terry Taylor led the team in boards with six, scoring 10 points in Austin Peay’s final regular season road matchup.
Glotta added 19 of the Governors’ 23 bench points, one point shy of his career high, pulled down four boards and dished out four assists to pad his stat line.
Austin Peay will finish the regular season when rivalry weekend comes to Clarksville, 7p.m., Saturday against Murray State for Battle of the Border sponsored by Heritage Bank.