EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.— (CLARKSVILLENOW) It took overtime, but Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team earned its season’s first Ohio Valley Conference victory in thrilling fashion with an 83-81 win against SIU Edwardsville, Thursday.

It was very nearly a wire-to-wire performance for the Govs, who started the game on a 15-5 run and saw their lead swell to 17 with less than five minutes to go in the first half before a 9-2 Cougar rally to close the half made it 35-25 at the break. SIU Edwardsville committed 14 turnovers in the first half alone, leading to 15 Austin Peay points.

The lead held right around double digits for the first few minutes of a foul-plagued second half; both teams were in the bonus at the 13:45 mark. The Cougars were never able to make a sustained run until late in the second half, erasing a 14-point Governor advantage over the final 5:31 of regulation with a 19-5 run that culminated in a Keenan Simmons lay-up with six seconds left to the game and force overtime.

In the extra period, the Governors were carried by John Murry, Josh Robinson and Jared Savage, who scored all 13 Governor points, combining to go 4-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-6 at the free-throw line. Robinson punctuated his game-high 26 points with jumpers on back-to-back possessions to make it a five-point game with 28 seconds left, and Savage put the game away with two free-throws to make it a five-point game with five seconds left.

Austin Peay forced 21 SIU Edwardsville turnovers, with both Jared Savage and Chris Porter-Bunton collecting four steals apiece. The Govs turned those Cougar miscues into 21 points.

The win was Austin Peay’s first overtime victory since the 2016 OVC Tournament semifinal win against Belmont, March 4, 2016.
Robinson scored 26 points on 10-for-21 shooting, his third night of 25 points or better in his last five outings. His 21 attempts were most by a Governor this season, and his six rebounds were a season-high.
The Governors 36 rebounds were their most since Nov. 19 against Miami.

Austin Peay finishes up a grueling four-game road trip with a journey to Eastern Illinois for an 11 a.m., Saturday contest on the American Sports Network.