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HomeSportsLate Cold Spell Dooms APSU Basketball against Evansville

Late Cold Spell Dooms APSU Basketball against Evansville

APSU Sports Information

APSU Men's Basketball - Austin Peay State UniversityClarksville, TN – A barrage of second-half three-pointers from Josh Robinson and Zach Glotta gave Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team a late lead against Evansville, but a cold spell in the final minutes ultimately proved to be the Govs undoing in a 77-69 defeat at the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball loses to Evansville at the Dunn Center 77-69. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball loses to Evansville at the Dunn Center 77-69. (APSU Sports Information)

In a back-and-forth contest that saw seven ties and 12 lead changes, the Governors got the upper hand early, working their way out to a 22-13 lead with 6:57 to go in the first half on the strength of an 11-0 run that included three-pointers from Glotta and junior Tre’ Ivory.

But Evansville would outscore the Govs 23-9 over the final 6:38 of the half to take a 36-31 lead into the break after a physical opening 20 minutes that saw the teams combine for 23 fouls; Evansville was in the bonus for the final 15:35 of the half.

APSU Men's Basketball - Josh RobinsonThe second half followed a similar pattern; the Govs, using timely shooting from Glotta and Robinson, went on a 24-9 run that not only erased an eight-point Purple Aces lead but gave the Govs a seven-point cushion of their own. Glotta scored 11 of his 14 points during this stretch, including a banked-in three-pointer to give Austin Peay its first lead of the second half.

Up seven with 5:58 remaining after Robinson hit a trio of free-throws, the Govs were held without a bucket for the remainder of the contest and committed six of their 13 turnovers during this stretch. Jaylon Brown (game-high 25 points) and Christian Benzon (18) did the damage late for Evansville, scoring 17 of the Purple Aces final 19 points.

The Difference

Evansville was able to do a lot of work inside, outscoring Austin Peay 50-16 in the paint.

Notably

APSU Men's Basketball - Assane DiopSenior Assane Diop was one point shy of his first career double-double; the big man from Senegal finished with nine points and equaled his career high with 10 rebounds.

Robinson hit two three-pointers in this contest, snapping a three-game stretch with no threes that equaled the longest stretch of his collegiate career. His next three-point basket will put him into the APSU top-10 all-time.

The 37 bench points by the Govs were the second-most in 2016-17 and most against a Division I opponent.

Evansville shot 54.5 percent from the floor, the fifth straight opponent to hit at least half their shots against the Govs.

The Govs finished 18-for-25 from the free-throw line and have now hit 73.0 percent (111-for-152) from the charity stripe in losses this season.

After struggling from distance the previous three games, making just 12 three-pointers as a team, Austin Peay hit nine against Evansville.

Two players made their first appearance in the 2016-17 starting five; freshman Jartavious Dobbs got his first career start, while Ivory was in the first five for the first time since his freshman season, making his second career start.

APSU Men's Basketball - Zach GlottaIvory’s four assists were a season-high  

After making one three-pointer his previous eight games, Zach Glotta caught fire against the Purple Aces. The sophomore knocked down four from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points, his second time scoring in double figures in 2016-17.

Robinson on the Move: With 24 points, Robinson now has 1,132 for his Austin Peay career, passing Larry Noble (1,114) for 23rd all-time tonight. Next: Will Triggs (1,139 points)

Coaching Quotables

Head Coach Dave Loos

On going the final 7:37 without a field goal

“I wouldn’t recommend that, not if you want to win close games. It was a close game and we just couldn’t cash in. We made some crazy plays and cost ourselves a nice lead.”

On personnel

“I really liked the way Assane played. Ivory gave us good minutes. I thought Glotta and Robinson of course played really well. Ivory gives us a defensive look.”

On defense

“(Stopping) the dribble penetration by their guards was lacking, and then the help—when you’re up against good guards, they’re going to get it done because the hardest thing to do in the game today is guard the ball on the dribble. And they’ve got two great guards in Brown and (Ryan) Taylor.”

Up Next for APSU Govs

Austin Peay closes out the home portion of its non-conference schedule with a 7:00pm, Tuesday, matchup against Lipscomb in the Dunn Center.

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