Edwardsville, IL – For the first time in a long time, Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team went on the road and emerged with a solid 74-59 win in Ohio Valley Conference play to take down SIU Edwardsville.
For the Govs, that’s three straight road wins for the first time since January 2020, moving them to 10-6, 5-4 in the league. SIU Edwardsville drops below .500 at 6-7 overall, 4-3 in the conference.
The Governors spent the first half hitting threes at a high rate, a new trend that currently isn’t showing signs of slowing down. Austin Peay got 15 of its first 17 points via the long ball, with Carlos Paez and Jordyn Adams both knocking down from distance in the early minutes of action.
The Governors seemed on the precipice of putting this one away early, building a 15-point lead heading into the half’s final media timeout. But the Cougars closed the half on a 9-2 run to halve the lead and head into the break within striking distance at 35-27.
The Cougars closed it to within four points early in the second half, but that was as close things would get. An early 12-2 Austin Peay State University run, highlighted by seven points from sophomore Alec Woodard, pushed the advantage back into double figures for the Govs, where it would remain for the bulk of the remainder of the game.
Every time the Cougars looked like making a run, the APSU Govs would snuff it out. After a Shamar Wright three, Taylor threw down a rim-rattling dunk. When Mike Adewunmi sank a layup, Peake matched him. From 6:31-4:50, Austin Peay’s 8-0 run nearly doubled the lead for the Govs to 18 points and effectively ended the contest.
With a double-digit lead for much of the game, it gave the Govs a chance to integrate a couple of guys back into the rotation, with Reginald Gee (15 minutes) getting his most action since Eastern Illinois and Corbin Merritt (nine minutes) getting his first appearance since that contest in Charleston.
Terry Taylor led four Govs in double figures with 15 points and eight boards; Woodard turned in 13 points, including 10 in the second half, with Mike Peake (14 points) and Paez (11 points, nine assists) rounding out the day for the Govs.
The Difference
The Austin Peay State University Governors transition game has stepped up over the last few weeks, culminating in a 19-8 advantage on the break at SIU Edwardsville. The Govs are now averaging 13.6 fast-break points over the last eight games.
Notably
Austin Peay State University has won 12 straight games against SIU Edwardsville, their longest active streak against a league foe and their longest streak against an OVC foe since winning 17 straight against Eastern Kentucky from 1997-04.
The APSU Govs have also won six straight in Edwardsville.
Austin Peay State University outscored the SIUE bench 15-12, the first time the Governor reserves outscored the opponent since Jan. 2 against Eastern Kentucky.
Paez equaled his career-high with nine assists; with his 11 points, the Venezuelan is now averaging 11.0 points and 5.6 assists over his last six games.
Paez is also now hitting 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from beyond the arc over his last eight games.
The APSU Govs are 7-0 when outshooting their opponent and 7-0 when holding the opponent below 45 percent from the floor this season.
After a 5-for-7 showing from the floor, Peake is hitting 65.4 percent from the floor over his last eight games.
Milestone Watch—Career: With former record holder Bubba Wells, now an SIUE assistant, looking on, Terry Taylor took the top spot in Austin Peay State University history with 874. Taylor took over sole possession of second on the career starts list with 116, and passed Wes Channels (2006-10) for eighth all-time in free-throws made and passed Jim Beshear (1959-62) for seventh all-time in free-throws attempted.
Milestone Watch—OVC: Taylor passed Isaac Spencer (1997-01) to take seventh all-time in career scoring; next, he would pass Wells on the league list and takes over the top spot on Austin Peay’s career list. He also tied Jimmy Hagan (Tennessee Tech, 1957-60) for eighth all-time in OVC history with 1,108 rebounds.
Coaching Quotables with APSU head coach Matt Figger
On SIUE’s late first-half run
“I knew we were in foul trouble, but we’d been playing really well. We didn’t close the half the right way against a team that has a lot of confidence after playing well on the road for the last six games. They’re very versatile and skilled and came out in the second half and gave us a couple of punches and we responded.”
On Woodard
“I trust Alec Woodard. Nobody hurt more for Alec Woodard after the Jacksonville State game than I did. He puts in the time and the effort and he’s all about the team, and good things happen when you do things the right way. He was the spark we needed on the road and we couldn’t have won the game without him.”
On picking up a road win
“It’s great for our confidence. We’re in the 24-hour rule now; win or lose, you’ve got 24 hours to shake it off and keep moving. It’s a great start for what we’ve got coming up the next five or six days.”
Box Score
Austin Peay 74, SIU Edwardsville 59
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 39 | 74 | |
| 27 | 32 | 59 |
Next Up For Austin Peay State University Basketball
Austin Peay will hit the road to Eastern Kentucky, which has changed to a 6:00pm CT tip time Thursday night in Richmond after the postponement of the Govs-Colonels women’s game.
