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HomeSportsSecond Half Rally comes up short for APSU Basketball at Miami

Second Half Rally comes up short for APSU Basketball at Miami

APSU Sports Information

APSU Men's Basketball - Austin Peay State UniversityOxford, OH – Despite a furious second-half rally, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball’s second comeback bid in as many days fell short, with the Govs dropping a 76-70 decision to host Miami at Millett Hall.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball loses to Miami 76-70 Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball loses to Miami 76-70 Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)

Down 17 with 17 minutes to go, the Govs chipped away at the RedHawk lead, getting to within a point thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore Jared Savage with 2:19 remaining in the contest, capping a nearly 15-minute stretch that saw the Govs outscore the hosts 41-25.

But the Govs could never find the go-ahead bucket, falling to 2-2 on the campaign.

Similar to the first half against Northern Kentucky, the Governors got off to a slow start against the RedHawks. Although the perimeter shot was not falling at all for Austin Peay in the first half—the Govs were just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes—senior Kenny Jones led the way with 11 points and five boards in the opening half.

Savage hit a few shots early and Josh Robinson came to life late; both finished the half with seven points.

Foul trouble shuffled Robinson to the bench for a large part of the second half, but Savage responded with a flurry of three-pointers and 13 points, finishing with a season-high 20, which included five three-pointers, and a career high-tying nine boards. Jones posted his second consecutive double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Difference

The Governors made their comeback bid in the second half on the strength of Savage (4-of-7, all three-pointers) and free-throw shooting (15-of-20 in the second half); the rest of the Govs hit 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) over the final 20 minutes, while Miami was nearly at 50 percent (11-for-23, 47.8).

Notably

  • It was Savage’s first double-figure scoring night in 2016-17 and his first 20-point outing since last March’s OVC Championship game against UT Martin.
  • Jones posted back-to-back double-doubles for the second time in his career; he now has four in his Austin Peay career.
  • Foul trouble limited Robinson in the second half; he finished with 13 points and needs nine in tomorrow’s Tarkett Classic finale for 1,000 in his Austin Peay career. He’s now reached double figures in 21 consecutive contests. He also tied Donald Tivis for 24th with 249 career free-throws made.
  • Austin Peay outscored Miami 15-8 on second-chance opportunities, including 10-1 in the second half.
  • Senior John Murry finished with 18 points and has reached double figures in three consecutive games, the longest streak of his APSU career.

Coaching Quotables

“We dig too big a hole for ourselves. It was the same thing last night; I told them today that we can’t dig a hole like that and expect to come back every night. You’re not going to win consistently like that. Tonight, some shots that we made last night weren’t going in, so it didn’t work. We’ve got to play better early,” stated head coach Dave Loos

“We rebounded better, but not good enough yet. There were a number of rebounds there for us to take, and that makes a big difference. We’ve got to rebound better, quit digging ourselves such a big hole to begin the game and maybe we’ll have a chance to be consistent.”

Up Next for the APSU Govs

The Govs close out their stay at the Tarkett Sports Classic with an 11:00am (CT), Sunday contest against Delaware. The Blue Hens are 1-1 in the tournament, defeating Miami (68-66) in their opening contest before falling 74-53 to Northern Kentucky today.

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