Govs put six in double figures in return to the win column against EKU

It was the Governors over the Colonels 90-84 Thursday night at the Dunn Center.

By Colby Wilson

Associate Director of Athletic Communications

January 26, 2018 8:27 am

Clarksville NowMcKenzie Dixon, APSU Athletics

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) Six Austin Peay State University men’s basketball players scored in double figures as a total team effort helped the Governors fend off Eastern Kentucky, 90-84, Thursday, in the Dunn Center.

The Govs (11-10, 6-3 OVC) got out to a hot start, hitting nine of their first 13 shots to double up the Colonels, 24-12, nearly halfway through the opening period. Eastern Kentucky (8-14, 2-7 OVC) roared back on a 20-8 run to briefly take the lead inside the three-minute mark in the first half before the Govs closed six unanswered points to take a 40-35 advantage into the break.

Austin Peay led for nearly the entirety of the second half, but that doesn’t mean the path to victory against the Colonels was an easy one. After a jumper from junior Zach Glotta pushed the lead to 10 with 11:24 to go, the Colonels slowly chipped away at the Austin Peay advantage and tied the game at 82 with 1:38 remaining on two Dedric Boyd free-throws.

As they often do, the Govs turned to freshman Terry Taylor in crunch time, and as he often does, Taylor did not disappoint. First came an old-fashioned three-point play with 29 seconds remaining to break the tie, then a pair of free-throws with 12 seconds left to push the advantage to seven points—the Colonels would get no closer than five the rest of the night.

With just nine players dressed—believed to be the fewest in uniform for an Austin Peay squad since Feb. 15-17, 1992—the Governors had little leeway in terms of foul trouble. Not only did the Govs expertly manage the foul situation—senior Tre’ Ivory is the only APSU player with four or more fouls—the Governors committed six fewer fouls than EKU (20-14) and soundly outpaced the Colonels in attempts (25-12) and makes (18-9), including a 15-of-16 showing from the charity stripe in the second half.

“I’m always happy to win and to win a league game. At home or on the road, those are valuable, and they put us a step closer to our first goal, which is to qualify for the tournament. But outside of us scoring the ball, I felt like our defensive performance was pathetic,” said APSU Head Men’s Basketball Coach Matt Figger.