JACKSONVILLE, Alabama — (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) Austin Peay State University had a simple mission Saturday: snap a six-game road losing streak and remain among the Ohio Valley Conference’s elite. Mission accomplished. And then some.
The Govs dominated every facet of the game against host Jacksonville State, cruising to an 87-67 win against the defending OVC Tournament champion on its home court, led by 35 points and 12 rebounds from senior Averyl Ugba.
Head coach Matt Figger voiced his frustration with sluggish starts after Thursday’s game at Tennessee Tech; the Govs must’ve gotten the message, as they matched Jacksonville State bucket for bucket to start the first half before ripping off a massive 27-3 run to put the game out of reach, presenting a balanced attack featuring eight points from Ugba, seven from junior Zach Glotta and seven from freshman Terry Taylor.
That allowed the Govs to take a 23-point lead, 48-25, into the locker room at halftime.
Ugba was at it again early in the second half, scoring nine of the Governors first 15 points as the lead swelled to 30 points. Although the Gamecocks would actually outscore the Govs in the second half (42-39), nearly every Jacksonville State bucket was matched on the other end by Austin Peay and the Gamecocks would not cut the deficit below 20 points for the rest of the contest.
Tempting as it is to put Ugba here—35 points and 12 boards certainly make a difference—Saturday’s contest boiled down to two things: the Govs hit shots and Jacksonville State didn’t. Austin Peay’s 61.1 percent shooting night was a season-best, and highest against a Division I foe since equaling that mark against Western Kentucky (Dec. 28, 2016), while Jacksonville State’s 32.4 percent mark was worst by an Austin Peay opponent in 2017-18 and worst by a Division I foe since the Govs held these same Gamecocks to a 29.9 percent mark in the Jan. 7, 2016 meeting.
“It was as good of a mental state as our team has been in all season. Kid’s are resilient; they let go of stuff real quick and move on to the next thing. These kids just took the next step forward and believed in themselves,” said APSU Men’s Head Coach Matt Figger.