Govs storm back to dispatch EIU, advance to OVC Tournament semifinals

EVANSVILLE, IN. — (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) A dominant second-half effort rallied Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team to a 73-66 win against Eastern Illinois to advance the third-seeded Governors to the semifinals of the 2017-18 Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The victory pushes the Govs (18-13) onward to Friday’s OVC semifinals, where they will face second-seeded Belmont in the 9 p.m. contest. To say that Eastern Illinois (12-19) came out hot simply wouldn’t do the situation justice—the Panthers hit their first six shots from the floor, including three beyond the arc, to stake a 20-8 lead at the first media timeout.

While the Panthers inevitably cooled off on the offensive end, the Governors still had quite the job before them. What didn’t help Austin Peay in the first half was uncannily less efficient shooting than the Governors typically employ—Austin Peay shot just 32.3 percent (10-of-31) over the first 20 minutes. One Gov who opened strong was senior Averyl Ugba, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half, including a pair of three-pointers to provide the opening spark for Austin Peay.

Perhaps the Govs were just saving the fireworks for the second half; out of the break roared the third-seeded Governors, who opened the half on a 12-4 run and subsequently outscored Eastern Illinois 20-6 over the first seven-plus minutes of the frame to turn a 14-point deficit into a tie game.

The Govs and Eastern Illinois traded blows down the stretch, as the seventh-seeded Panthers began to feel the effects of their second game in 24 hours. As the half stretched on, the Governors seemed to have the fresher legs, getting good minutes from the bench unit—particularly Zach Glotta, who scored a career-high 21 points.

Glotta keyed the final stretch that saw the Govs finally blow the contest open. His three-pointer at the 8:05 mark kicked off 17-4 run that included another Glotta jumper and two big three-pointers from freshman Dayton Gumm as well; Eastern Illinois would get no closer than six points the rest of the way.