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HomeSportsAPSU Men's Basketball slips past Tennessee State on Zavion Williams tip in

APSU Men’s Basketball slips past Tennessee State on Zavion Williams tip in

Austin Peay Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Governors - APSUClarksville, TNZavion Williams tip-in of a missed free throw with 6.4 seconds left culminated an Austin Peay State University rally from an 11-point deficit over the final 6:04 as the Governors escaped Tennessee State, 69-68, Thursday night, in Ohio Valley Conference basketball action in Dave Aaron Arena.

Austin Peay junior guard Zavion Williams tipped in the game winner against the Tennessee State Tigers, Thursday night. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay junior guard Zavion Williams tipped in the game winner against the Tennessee State Tigers, Thursday night. (APSU Sports Information)

TSU’s Darreon Reddick, the reigning OVC Freshman of the Week, drove the length of the floor before coming up on a contested jump shot from the right baseline as the buzzer sounded.

The victory snapped the Governors three-game losing streak and gave them their first OVC win this season, improving to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in the OVC. TSU fell to 3-16 overall and 0-4 in the OVC.

APSU led 43-42 with 13:52 remaining before the Governors went ice cold from the floor, going 1-of-9, while TSU warmed up from the floor, hitting a trio of field goals, while also taking almost full advantage of 14 free-throw attempts—making 13—over the next 7 ½ minutes.

APSU's Josh RobinsonAs a result, the Tigers held what appeared to be an insurmountable 59-48 lead with six minutes left in the contest.

But freshman Josh Robinson came off the bench to knock down a three pointer before TSU’s Jay Harris answered with a pair of free throws. Robinson then hit another three pointer and the Govs’ deficit shrunk to seven with 5:22, giving APSU hope.

APSU’s defensive pressure forced a TSU turnover and resulted in a Khalil Davis layup, carving the lead to five with just under five minutes remaining. TSU finally missed a free throw—the second of a two-shot situation—before APSU was called for a five-second violation in the frontcourt.

APSU's Chris HortonAfter a TSU miss inside, Chris Horton was fouled on the other end attacking the rim. But he converted only one of two free throws to make it a five-point game, 62-57, with 4:08 left. After APSU was unable to take advantage of a Tigers turnover against the Governors pressure, TSU once again seemed on the verge of game’s control when Harris hit a three pointer with 3:03 left to push the lead to eight, 65-57.

But the freshman Robinson was fouled attacking the basketball, making two free throws with 2:45 left to make it a six-point contest. The Govs full-court defense led to a Chris Freeman steal. But the Govs came up empty on a two-shot free throw before Smith collected a steal in the TSU frontcourt and drove to the hoop, slamming it home. It was a four-point game, 65-61, with 1:46 remaining.

APSU forced another TSU turnover on a five-second inbounds call only to have the Govs exasperatingly turn it over themselves with 1:36 remaining. This time TSU took advantage with Zachary Lee nailing a jumper with 1:14 remaining to give TSU a 67-61 advantage.

Robinson, seeking to slice the deficit in half, missed on a three-point shot. However, Horton snagged the offensive rebound, scored on a layup and was fouled. This time he converted the free throw and the deficit was trimmed to three, 67-64, with 1:02 left.

APSU's Chris FreemanAPSU forced another turnover and now had a chance to tie. However, Smith missed a three pointer with 44 ticks left. APSU fouled Harris, who made just one of free throws, again making it a four-point contest. Smith this time attacked the rim and dunked it with 26 seconds left with the deficit now just two, 68-66.

APSU almost immediately fouled Xavier Richards, who missed both ends of a two-shot free throw with 23 seconds left. APSU now had a chance to either tie (with a two pointer) or take the lead (with a three pointer).

The Govs then put the ball in the freshman Robinson’s hands. He spun inside and narrowly missed scoring on a contest shot, being fouled on the play with 7.0 seconds left. He sank the first free throw but after a TSU timeout, Robinson missed right on the second. The 5-11 Williams, one of the smallest players on the floor, was left unattended and he slipped down the right side. In one motion he leaped and tipped in the ball to give APSU the victory.

APSU's Zavion WilliamsWilliams finished 13 points in 10 minutes—the winning tip was his only offensive rebound of the night. Robinson, meanwhile, led the way with 15 points in his first college start. Horton finished with 14 points nine rebounds.

The Governors continued their shooting, shooting below 40 percent (39.6 percent/21 of 53) for the fourth straight game.

TSU, meanwhile, converted 10-of-17 floor shots (58.8 percent) in the second half to finish at 45.5 percent (20 of 44). The Tigers scored almost as many points from the free-throw line (20 of 26) in the final half as they from the field (22).

Harris led the Tigers with 16 points while freshman post player Christian Mekowulu added 15 points and eight rebounds.

Box Score

Austin Peay 69 (6-11 1-2 OVC) vs Tennessee State 68 (3-16 0-4 OVC)

1 2 Total Records
Tennessee State 26 42 68 3-16 (0-4 OVC)
Austin Peay 31 38 69 6-11 (1-2 OVC)

 

Tennessee State 68

## Player FGM-FGA 3FGM-3FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF TOT PF TP A TO BLK STL MIN
21 Mekowulu, Christian 5-10 0-0 4-4 1-7 8 2 14 0 3 0 0 28
14 Reddick, Darreon 3-8 1-2 4-4 1-6 7 3 11 3 1 0 2 37
0 Lee, Zachary 3-6 0-1 4-6 1-1 2 4 10 0 4 1 1 27
10 Tucker, Charles 1-4 0-1 3-4 0-0 0 3 5 3 2 0 0 18
3 Simeon, Rodney 1-3 1-2 0-0 0-3 3 1 3 0 1 0 0 14
5 Harris, Jay 4-6 1-2 7-8 2-5 7 1 16 1 1 0 0 27
2 Roper, Marcus 2-6 2-6 0-0 0-2 2 1 6 0 1 0 1 17
4 Richards, Xavier 1-1 0-0 1-4 0-1 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 13
11 Loman, Demontez 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 5 0 0 0 1 0 19
0 TEAM 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 20-44 5-14 23-30 6-28 34 22 68 7 14 2 4 200
Percentages 45.5% 35.7% 76.7%

 

Austin Peay 69

## Player FGM-FGA FGM3-FGA3 FTM-FTA OFF-DEF TOT PF TP A TO BLK STL MIN
4 Robinson, Josh 4-12 4-8 3-4 1-2 3 1 15 1 1 0 0 29
5 Horton, Chris 4-8 0-0 6-11 4-5 9 2 14 0 3 1 1 33
11 Davis, Khalil 3-6 2-4 1-4 0-2 2 4 9 4 1 2 0 25
24 Dyson, Ed 3-7 1-3 1-2 1-3 4 1 8 1 0 0 2 26
12 Purvis, Jeremy 0-1 0-1 2-2 0-1 1 1 2 2 1 0 1 24
2 Williams, Zavion 5-9 2-6 1-1 1-1 2 4 13 0 1 0 0 10
22 Smith, Damarius 2-6 0-3 2-2 0-1 1 3 6 3 2 0 1 21
15 Freeman, Chris 0-3 0-0 2-2 2-5 7 3 2 0 0 0 1 26
1 Diop, Assane 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6
TM TEAM 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Totals 21-53 9-26 18-28 9-22 31 20 69 11 10 3 6 200
Percentages 39.6% 34.6% 64.3%
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