RICHMOND, Kentucky — (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) Despite an outstanding individual performance from sophomore Terry Taylor, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team could not hang on, suffering an 82-80 to Eastern Kentucky at McBrayer Arena, Thursday.
Despite 37 points from Taylor, Austin Peay (21-9, 13-4 Ohio Valley Conference) shot below 40 percent from the floor for just the fourth time this season. Eastern Kentucky (13-17, 6-11 OVC) kept itself alive for a berth in next week’s OVC Tournament.
From the tip, it was evident that Eastern Kentucky had no plans to roll over for one of the league’s top teams. Dujuanta Weaver’s three-pointer on the game’s first possession set a tone, one that had the Colonels up 16-8 with just over five minutes off the clock following another three from Jomaru Brown.
The Govs would rally, posting a 10-4 run over the next four minutes and outscoring the Colonels 21-9 to take the lead on a Taylor three with 6:10 to play in the half. Taylor’s number was called early and often in the half; with Chris Porter-Bunton and Jabari McGhee in foul trouble, the Bowling Green native scored 27 points in the first half, with this three kicking off a stretch that saw him score 13 over the final 6:10 in the frame.
Taylor’s jumper with 12 seconds to play in the half looked as though it would make it a one-possession game entering halftime, but Eastern Kentucky’s Kelvin Robinson beat the buzzer with a jumper in the lane to make it 45-41 Colonels at the break.
Taylor scored 10 points in the first 7:36 of the second half, at which point the rest of the Govs got involved and helped push the Austin Peay lead to seven after a pair of Porter-Bunton free-throws with 8:26 to play. But the final eight minutes saw Austin Peay hit just 2-of-10 from the floor and commit a turnover.
At this point, Eastern Kentucky began feeding Nick Mayo the ball. The perennial All-OVC pick scored 11 of the final 19 points for the Colonels, tying the game with a tip-in at the 4:20 mark and answering Antwuan Butler’s go-ahead three with a triple of his own with 1:50 to play.
Porter-Bunton willed his way to the line with 1:26 to play and sank both to tie the game once again. Brown missed a jumper on the wing and Butler missed a runner in the lane, giving the Colonels the ball with 15.3 seconds to play in a tie game.
Eastern Kentucky gave the ball to Mayo and cleared out, giving the 6-9 senior room to work; he was checked by Porter-Bunton, Austin Peay’s senior leader and outstanding defender. Mayo drove the lane; with 5.6 seconds left, one of two things happened: either Mayo slipped or Porter-Bunton tried to handcheck and sent him tumbling to the floor.
A foul was called. Mayo sank both free-throws to give the Colonels the lead. The Govs got the ball up the court and managed to get an open look for Taylor from 22 feet. His game-winner looked good off his hands but fortune was not with the sophomore and the attempt bounced out.
The regular-season finale pits Austin Peay against archrival Murray State in a 7 p.m., Saturday contest at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.