COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — (ESPN Clarksville) The first half was a defensive struggle. The second, a lay-up line. But at the end, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team had done more than enough to snap a six-game losing streak in the Eblen Center by virtue of a 77-66 decision before a national audience, Thursday.
The victory put Austin Peay (15-7, 7-2 Ohio Valley Conference) back into the win column ahead of what’s shaping up to be a massive league contest against Jacksonville State on Saturday. Tennessee Tech (7-15, 3-6) remains in a heated battle for one of the last OVC Tournament slots as the regular season hits the midway point.
Despite a first half that had its share of struggles from the floor—Austin Peay shot just 37.8 percent in the opening period—the Govs quickly built a double-digit lead on the Golden Eagles thanks to stifling defense. Tennessee Tech hit just two shots from the floor over the first 10 minutes of play, by which point the Govs had already built a 13-point lead.
Two Cade Crossland three-pointers less than a minute apart woke up the home crowd, but Austin Peay quickly recovered and added to their lead, which reached 17 on a Steve Harris jumper with 3:15 to play in the half. Despite Tennessee Tech’s Corey Tillery beating the first-half buzzer with a jumper in the lane, Austin Peay possessed a 13-point lead at halftime, built in part by a 15-1 advantage in points off turnover.
Where both teams had long stretches of being unable to create easy buckets in the first half, the second half was a different story. To be fair to both defenses, few were the wide-open chances that weren’t created by a turnover on the other end of the floor; both teams hit more than their share of tough shots, either contested with a hand in the face or absorbing contact and finishing at the rim.
Chris Porter-Bunton, Terry Taylor and Zach Glotta took control at various points for the Govs in the half. Porter-Bunton scored Austin Peay’s first six points in the half, while Taylor with Austin Peay’s next eight points as the lead grew to 20 points with 15:39 to go. Glotta sprinkled in a trio of three-pointers, including two less than a minute apart near the 12-minute mark.
For most of the half, the Austin Peay advantage stayed in the 15-20 point range as the Governors defense continually stymied Tennessee Tech. However, after a Hunter Vick three at the 5:01 mark cut the Austin Peay lead to 18, Tennessee Tech seemed to come alive; the Golden Eagles hit five of their final six shots from the field, cutting the Governor lead to nine with 31 seconds to play, but it was too late to do more than throw a brief bit of concern into the Govs by that point.