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HomeSportsGovs rally down stretch to defeat Evansville 71-68

Govs rally down stretch to defeat Evansville 71-68

With star guard Wesley Channels on the bench with foul troubles, Austin Peay State University rallied down the stretch to defeat Evansville, 71-68, in a foul-plagued game at Dave Aaron Arena, Tuesday night.

Austin Peay, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, will enter the Christmas holidays with an 8-5 record while Evansville, a member of the Missouri Valley, saw its record slip to 6-4.

APSU plays Evansville at the Dunn Center (Robert Smith/The Leaf-Chronicle)

With APSU leading 59-58 with 5:47 remaining, Channels was called for his fifth foul on a reach in. Evansville’s James Haarsma then stepped to the line to hit two free throws to give Evansville a one-point lead with 5:32 left.

But the Govs did not recoil. Junior guard Caleb Brown stepped up to knock down a tough left-wing jumper to allow APSU to regain before two more free throws put Evansville back on top.

But Justin Blake would hit a pair of his own free throws to give APSU the lead, 63-62, for good with 4:03 left. After John Fraley made one of two free throws to give the Govs a two-point lead, another Brown jumper as the shot clock wound down made it a four-point game with 1:51 left.

Then it became a matter of a free-throw shooting for APSU, the team’s Achilles heel all night long. But Tyrone Caldwell made three of four free tosses while Anthony Campbell made two with 3.7 seconds left to all but seal the victory.

Campbell, who was held to just two points at Kentucky, bounced back with a team-high 17 against Evansville, including 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. Fraley scored in double figures for the sixth straight time with 14 points, although he struggled with an 8-for-16 night at the line.

Channels finished with 11 points.

Denver Holmes led four Purple Aces in double figures with 16 points while guard Ned Cox added 15, including two early second-half three pointers that propelled Evansville on an 11-1 run out of the locker room and the lead.

APSU led by as much as 11 first-half points and held a 39-30 lead at halftime. But Evansville got back into the game and actually took the lead, 48-42, with Channels on the bench with his fourth foul.

But APSU fought its way back to take the lead, 49-48, on a Fraley dunk and the lead never was more than four points the game’s remainder.

Evansville was charged with a Dunn Center-record 36 fouls in the game but the Govs could not take full advantage, making just 28 of 43 (65.1 percent). The Govs also forced 24 Evansville turnovers helping offset an Evansville 44-23 rebound advantage.

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