EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.— (ESPN Clarksville) It wasn’t always pretty, but Austin Peay State University men’s basketball held tough against a resilient SIU Edwardsville squad to take a hard-fought 79-71 road victory at the Vadalabene Center, Thursday.

On the back of a monster performance from sophomore Terry Taylor, Austin Peay (13-5, 5-0 OVC) remained unbeaten in conference play ahead of what’s sure to be another road battle on Saturday. SIU Edwardsville (5-12, 1-4) saw its three-game home winning streak snapped.

Over the years, the Vadalabene Center has been one of the toughest places for Austin Peay to play—despite their recent winning streak, the Govs have been pushed to the limit time and again, and from the outset Thursday shaped up to be no exception. Although the Govs built an early six-point lead thanks to a three and a layup by Jarrett Givens, the Cougars responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead and the first half would rarely be more than a one-possession game from there.

A Christian Ellis three put the Cougars ahead by three with 4:05 to play in the half, but the Govs closed out strong. Three-point plays by Taylor and Steve Harris, coupled with a lockdown defensive effort that saw SIUE make no shots from the floor after Ellis’ three, sent the Govs into the halftime break leading 38-35.

A David McFarland three to open the second half tied the game and it looked like the Cougars were going to be in it to the very end. Taylor began his second-half takeover with around 14 minutes to play, scoring 11 of Austin Peay’s next 13 points to put the Govs ahead for good. However, the Cougars remained hungry and were unwilling to go away despite the Govs best efforts.

But with about nine minutes remaining, a Chris Porter-Bunton dunk signaled that Austin Peay was ready to begin putting the game away. Porter-Bunton’s slam kicked off an 11-3 Governors run that took Austin Peay’s lead to 11 with 4:30 to play. The teams largely traded free-throws down the stretch, with a Tyrese Williford three getting the Cougars within six with 38 seconds to play, but SIU Edwardsville would get no closer.

The Cougars simply had no answer for the Bowling Green native, who took over and finished with a career-high 33 points and 12 boards, hitting 50 percent from the floor (12-of-24) and adding in a pair of steals. He scored 20 in the second half and was instrumental in helping the Govs put away the Cougars.