COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) A streak was going to come to an end Thursday night for Austin Peay men’s basketball team in its contest at Tennessee Tech, one way or another. Either the Governors would bump up their season-long winning streak to five games or continue their season-long search for a road victory.
Alas, Austin Peay’s search for a road win continues as the Governors fell to Tennessee Tech at the Eblen Center, 86-74, despite a career-high 23 points from junior Chris Porter-Bunton.
Two Tennessee Tech runs conspired to put the Govs behind at halftime. To kick off the contest, the Golden Eagles went on a 9-2 run, and close the half on a 14-2 run over the final 4:47 of regulation. In between, the Govs soundly dominated, outscoring their hosts 26-13 led largely by Porter-Bunton, who broke into double figures for the fourth straight game with 10 first-half points, but found themselves trailing 36-30 at the break.
Midway through the second half, Tennessee Tech would lead by as many as 14 points, but those pesky Governors proved tough to put away. An aggressive press brought Austin Peay back from the brink and put the Govs within six at the 5:45 mark. But another half-ending run from Tennessee Tech, this one of the 18-10 variety, put the game out of reach for Austin Peay.
The Difference
Two of the Ohio Valley Conference’s stingiest defenses were pretty evenly matched on the turnover battle, with Tennessee Tech holding a narrow advantage, 15-11. But it was what the Golden Eagles did with those turnovers that counted, as they outscored the Govs 24-10 in points off turnover.
Notably
“I felt like we got out-physicaled, out-toughed and out-played. We came out both halves in a lackadaisical mode. In the second half, we let (Curtis) Phillips and Jugovic take the ball wherever they wanted it to go. I think that’s the difference. We got outplayed at almost every spot on the floor. They set the tone with the toughness and we didn’t react,” said Head Men’s Basketball Coach Matt Figger.