APSU Governors Basketball unable to cage UT Martin Skyhawks

Austin Peay Sports Information

Martin, TN – UT Martin exploded out of halftime with an 8-0 run and Austin Peay State University never recovered as the Governors fell, 86-77, Thursday night in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Elam Center.

The loss dropped the Governors to 10-15 overall and 3-7 in the OVC while the Skyhawks improved to 12-12 overall and 4-5 in league play.

“We had some major breakdowns defensively in the second half,” APSU coach Dave Loos said. “We lost some people on the defensive end—we had too many breakdowns and we also gave up way too many offensive rebounds (13).”

The Governors owned much of the first half, leading by as much as nine points, 19-10, barely five minutes into the game. But UT Martin steadily sliced the lead and held a brief 34-32 lead with 44 seconds left before Josh Robinson nailed a three with 14 seconds left to give 35-34 halftime advantage.

But that momentum was blunted from the outset in the second half. Terrence Durham gave the Skyhawks the lead for good on a layup to start the half and then Twymond Howard and Alex Anderson hit back-to-back three pointers to give the UT Martin a 42-35 advantage.

The Govs then played catch up from that point on.

“We got off to a slow start in the second half,” APSU coach Dave Loos said. “We had some defensive breakdowns. The focus we needed on the defensive end was missing.”

Freshman point guard Zach Glotta stunted the run with a three pointer to chop the deficit to four but forward Kedar Edwards, who was just 4-of-16 from the floor, knocked down a three pointer to make it a 45-38 lead.

The Govs trimmed the deficit down to two, 50-48, when Josh Robinson hit a three pointer with 13:40 remaining but APSU could not get the defensive stops it needed. Edwards scored UTM’s next seven points to push the lead back to eight.

But again the Govs fought back as Horton and Kenny Jones worked their way inside for contested shots before Josh Robinson nailed a three pointer with 8:24 remaining to cut it to 61-60.

But reserve guard Jacolby Mobley, who kept the Skyhawks in the first half, connected on a three pointer to make it a four-point game and the Govs would never get closer than four the game’s remainder. Mobley had a perfect shooting night (5-of-5 fields goals, including four three pointers, and 6-of-6 at the line) for a game-high 20 points.

UT Martin scored 52 second-half points, shooting 55 percent (16 of 29) from the floor after making only 39 percent (10 of 26) in the opening half. The Govs, meanwhile, shot 46 percent from the floor, including making a season-high 12 three pointers on 34 attempts—nine more than their previous high.

“We didn’t play that well offensively because we didn’t shoot that ball that well,” Loos said. “We had the looks, but we just didn’t make the shots.”

Josh Robinson, who failed to score until 14 seconds in the first half, finished with 16 points, matching forward Kenny Jones, who put together his second straight productive outing on 7-of-8 shooting.

Senior center Chris Horton finished with 15 points. It gave him 1500 career points, making him only the 13th player in NCAA Division I history to achieve 1500 points, 1000 rebound and 300 blocked shots for his career. Horton ended with 11 rebounds as well, giving him his 16th double-double this season.

Freshman forward/guard Jared Savage scored a career-high 14 points, including four three pointers.

But the Govs could not match the Skyhawks five players in double figures.

In addition to Mobley, post player Myles Taylor tallied 19 points while fellow seniors Alex Anderson and Twymond Howard added 17 apiece.

Edwards ended with 11 points and a game-high 15 points.

Up Next

The Austin Peay Governors are back on the road Saturday, February 6th to take on the Murray State Racers. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00pm CT.

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