Second Rally gives APSU Men’s Basketball 77-69 win over Northern Kentucky

APSU Sports Information

Oxford, OH – Down 16 points with 12 minutes to go, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team staged a furious comeback to record an astonishing 77-69 win against Northern Kentucky in the first game of the Tarkett Sports Classic.

Behind a season-high night from junior Josh Robinson and another sizzling second half from senior John Murry, the Governors were able to rally from a 48-32 hole, outscoring the Norse 45-21 over the final 12 minutes.

The first-half did not go nearly as well for Austin Peay, which found itself playing catch-up from the outset thanks to a 9-2 Northern Kentucky run to open the game.

The Govs would battle back to within a point with under five minutes remaining in the half thanks to a Murry jumper, but the Norse closed the half like they started it—on a 9-2 run to take a 35-27 lead into the break.

The Norse lead swelled to 16 after an 11-5 run to open the second half. But then Murry and Robinson caught fire and took the Govs from down 16 to tied in the span of seven minutes, capping the comeback with back-to-back three-pointers from Robinson. The Governors then outscored Northern Kentucky 18-10 over the last five minutes, with Murry scoring 12 by himself during that stretch of play.

The Difference

The Govs came to life in the second half, hitting 57.7 percent (15-for-26) from the floor, while Northern Kentucky cratered with a 32.4 percent (12-for-37) mark from the field.

Notably

• Robinson’s 31 points marked his fourth career 30-point outing and first in 2016-17. With six three-pointers, he passed Trenton Hassell (1998-01) for 14^th all-time with 125.
• Murry set career-highs in points (19), free-throws made (10) and equaled a career-best with seven rebounds.
• Senior Kenny Jones posted his season’s first double-double with 13 points and 11 boards; it was his third career double-double and first since UT Martin, February 4th, 2016.
• Northern Kentucky hit just 14.3 percent (3-for-21) from beyond the arc, the lowest percentage allowed by Austin Peay since Tennessee State equaled that mark in last season’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Govs overcame a 19-point deficit to win that contest.
• The Governors got the victory despite losing the battle on the boards (44-33), which enabled Northern Kentucky outscore the Govs 15-4 on second-chance points. It was the Govs first win against a double-digit rebounding disadvantage since November 19th, 2013 against Southern Illinois.

Coaching Quotables

“We played poorly for three-quarters of the game but found a way to win, which is to their credit. I applaud them for that, but we’ve got to get better, and we’ve got to do it fast.” – Head coach Dave Loos

Up Next for the APSU Govs

Time to rest and relax for APSU, which gets back to work Saturday afternoon with a 2:30pm contest against tournament host Miami at Millett Hall.