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HomeSportsJosh Robinson leads APSU Governors to 92-84 win at Eastern Illinois

Josh Robinson leads APSU Governors to 92-84 win at Eastern Illinois

APSU Sports Information

APSU Men's Basketball - Austin Peay State UniversityCharleston, IL – Make it two in a row for Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team after the Govs polished off Eastern Illinois in a 92-84 contest at Lantz Arena, Saturday.

The Austin Peay attack, which featured four players in double figures, was paced by a season-high 36 points from junior Josh Robinson, including 15 in the first half.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball finishes road trip with win at Eastern Illinois Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball finishes road trip with win at Eastern Illinois Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)

Senior John Murry had one of his patented scoring barrages to aid Robinson’s efforts, with the Indianapolis native scoring 10 points over 3:42 (12:33-8:51), bookending the explosion with three-pointers. It marked the fourth time this season that Murry has needed less than five minutes to score 10 points.

The Governors led by as many as eight with 3:21 to go in the half before a late Panther run cut Austin Peay’s lead to a single point, 44-43, at halftime.

The game tightened up in the second half, with Demetrius McReynolds (32 points, 13 in the second half) striving to keep pace with Robinson. Tied at 70 at the 7:36 mark, the Govs reeled off a 9-0 run over the next 4:14, with Robinson and senior Kenny Jones combining for all nine game-turning points; the Panthers would not get within six points for the game’s remainder.

As good as Robinson was in the first half, he took it to another level in the second half, scoring 21 points on 6-for-7 from the floor (2-for-3 from beyond the arc) and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line; it was the first time a Gov scored 20 points in a half since Robinson and Murry each had 20 in the second half against Fort Wayne (November 30th). Jones had all 12 of his points in the second half.

The Difference

Although Eastern Illinois nearly doubled Austin Peay’s offensive rebound total (17-9), the Governors turned their opportunities into 14 second-chance points (1.56 points per rebound), while the Panthers managed just 11 second-chance points (0.65 ppr).

Notably

  • Robinson’s season-best 36 points shot him past two players (Donald Tivis and Greg Franklin) to 16th all-time in scoring. He also equaled his career-high in field goals (11) and set a season-high in rebounds (seven).
  • The Govs shot 54.2 percent (32-for-59) from the floor; it gave the Govs back-to-back 50-percent or better shooting nights for the first time since November 26th-30th.
  • Kenny Jones chipped in his season’s sixth double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) and had his third straight game with two blocks.
  • Austin Peay hit 12 three-pointers as a team—fourth double-digit three-point performance in 2016-17—and hit 60.0 percent (12-for-20) from beyond the arc, best since a 70 percent (7-for-10) performance against Eastern Illinois, February 13th, 2014.
  • With 18 points against the Panthers, Murry is now averaging 17.6 ppg in his last five games.
  • The Governors one steal equaled a season-low; however, the Governors turned 12 Eastern Illinois turnovers into 20 points, the third time in four games Austin Peay has 20 or more points off turnover. The Governors are 4-2 in games with 20-plus points off turnover in 2016-17.
  • This was the first time Austin Peay recorded back-to-back road wins since February 6th-10th, 2016.
  • Austin Peay is now shooting 63.9 (92-for-144) from the free-throw line in wins after hitting just 61.5 percent (16-for-26) against EIU; the Govs are at 73.1 percent in losses.
  • Jared Savage moved into 23rd all-time in three-pointers made with 86; he’s now averaging 12.2 ppg and hitting 50 percent from the floor (25-for-50) since December 28th.

Coaching Quotables

Assistant head coach Jay Bowen

On closing out the game

“We showed a couple of possessions in film (yesterday) from late in the game against (SIU) Edwardsville and explained what we were thinking and what we were looking for. So we saw it on film and then showed it in practice last night. When you get late in the game with a lead, you want to use up the shot clock but you don’t want to stand around. I thought we did a good job of getting deep in the shot clock and running something for Josh (Robinson). That deep in the game, if Josh has the ball in his hands, he’s a 90 percent free-throw shooter and if they foul him, he’s got to hit his free-throws.’

On playing to win

“Late in the last two games, I felt like we were playing not to lose. Against Jacksonville State, that came back to bite us; against Edwardsville, we were fortunate enough to win. Being the third time in a row, they learned from that and did what they needed to do to win the ballgame.”

Up Next for the APSU Govs

After emerging from a four-game OVC road trip with a 2-2 mark, Austin Peay will now be home for four games. The homestand starts Thursday with a 7:00pm contest against Morehead State.

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