Austin Peay State University Men’s Basketball falls at home to Belmont, 75-67

Clarksville, TN – Despite the trio of Drew Calderon, Carlos Paez, and Elijah Hutchins-Everett combining to score 54 points, the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team was edged by Belmont 75-67 Thursday night inside the Winfield Dunn Center.

Trailing by as many as 15 in the first half, the Govs battled back in the second half and cut the Belmont lead down to one late. However, Austin Peay State University was unable to take over the lead late as the Bruins iced the game with five straight free throws.

Leading the way for the Govs was freshman Drew Calderon with a career-high 20 points. In his first career start Calderon was 8-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line. The Woodlands, Texas native notched his second career double-digit performance while also tallying three assists, three steals and one rebound.
 
Behind Calderon was senior Carlos Paez with a season-high 18 points and two shy of his career-high. Paez was 5-of-8 from the field against the Bruins and was 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line. From the charity stripe, Paez was a perfect 4-for-4, marking the sixth game this season he’s registered a perfect free-throw percentage.
 
Rounding out the double-digit scoring was freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Hutchins-Everett also led the Govs with 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Hutchins-Everett scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half.

Junior Alec Woodard scored nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Senior Elton Walker and redshirt freshman Jalen Ware rounded out the scoring for the Govs with two points each.

As a team the Govs shot 40.4 percent from the field and was 10-of-26 from behind the three-point line. It’s the first time the Govs have registered 10 or more three-pointers since knocking down 11 at North Florida back on December 11th. Belmont narrowly outrebounded APSU, 30-33 with the Govs holding an 11-6 advantage on the offensive glass. Defensively, Austin Peay State University forced 16 turnovers, scoring 21 points off of Belmont mistakes.

How It Happened

First Half

Junior Alec Woodard scored the first six points for the APSU Govs as the game was tied at six with 16:13 left.

Austin Peay State University went scoreless from the field over three minutes as Belmont gained its first lead of the game.

APSU went on an 8-1 run highlighted back-to-back threes to take a 14-9 lead at the 13:23 mark.

Drew Calderon scored five of the eight points during the Govs run.

Belmont went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 14 with 12:31 to go.

Each team went scoreless for over two minutes as the game stay tied at 14 at the halfway point of the first half.

Belmont embarked on a 21-2 run over an eight-minute span to grab a 30-16 lead with 3:57 left.

The Govs went 1-of-14 from the field during the Belmont run.

Calderon once again embarked on a personal 5-0 run to trim the APSU Govs deficit down to 13 with 1:55 left.

Austin Peay State University ended the first half on a 6-0 run, making four of its final five field goals.

Calderon scored five of the final eight points for the Govs, hitting a three-pointer as the half expired.

Halftime: Austin Peay 28, Belmont 37

APSU shot 33.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three in the first half.

Calderon led the Govs, surpassing his career-high with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Austin Peay State University forced seven turnovers, scoring 10 points off of Belmont turnovers.

Second Half

Carlos Paez and Drew Calderon with back-to-back three-pointers to begin the second half.

APSU starts the second half on an 8-0 run to cut its deficit down to one at 37-36 with 18:20 remaining.

Belmont countered with a 12-2 run to extend its lead to double digits at 49-38.

During the 12-2 run the Bruins made four straight field goals.

Trailing 51-40, Paez scored five straight to cut into the Belmont lead.

The APSU Govs embarked on a 5-0 run over a four-minute span.

All five of the Govs points came from Paez with a three-pointer and two free-throws.

During the Austin Peay State University run, Belmont was held scoreless from the field.

Freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett scores five straight to cut the Belmont lead down to 56-50 with 8:09 remaining.

Hutchins-Everett with a personal 6-0 run to cut the APSU deficit down to 60-59 with 5:53 to play.

Since the 10-minute mark of the second half, Hutchins-Everett scored 12 of the Govs 15 points.

Belmont makes three straight field goals to extend its lead to 70-61 with 3:30 remaining.
 
APSU goes scoreless from the field for over three minutes as Belmont widened lead to 71-61 with 2:50 to go.
 
Austin Peay State University cut the Belmont lead down to 71-65 with 1:30 remaining after Calderon scored his 20th point of the night.
 
Paez with a floater in the lane to highlight a 6-0 run for the Govs, trailing 71-67 with one minute to play.

Belmont held scoreless from the field the final 3:50 but iced the game with final five points from the free-throw line.

Final Score: Austin Peay 67, Belmont 75

From APSU Head Coach Nate James

“For our guys to show up and fight the way they did was good to see. I am proud of the fact that our guys fought. I like the fact that we didn’t fold after our first half and we kept fighting and put ourselves in a position to win the game. We have to build off this game and learn from it and move on to the next one and just keep getting better.”

APSU Notables

Freshman Drew Calderon scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field.

Calderon’s second career game scoring in double figures.

Paez with a season-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and four three-pointers.

Paez’s fifth double-digit scoring performance of the season and 26th of his career.

Freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett registered 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.

Hutchins-Everett notched his 11th double-digit performance of the season.

The Orange, NJ, native scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half.

Hutchins-Everett led the Govs with 10 rebounds.

With 16 points and 10 rebounds, Hutchins-Everett notched his third double-double of the season.

It’s the 10th game this season Austin Peay State University has had three score in double figures.

The Govs drop to 19-12 against Belmont at home.

Eight of the last 12 meetings between APSU and Belmont have been decided by 10 points or less.

Since the 2016-17 campaign, Austin Peay State University has a record of 32-16 in home Ohio Valley Conference games.

The Govs connected on 10 three-pointers, marking the first time APSU has hit 10+ three’s since December 11th at North Florida

Tickets

Purchase single-game tickets or the all-new Family Four Pack presented by The City Forum. Receive four tickets to both a men’s and women’s basketball game along with four attraction passes at The City Forum. Packages start at just $22.00 and can be purchased by visiting letsgopeay.com/buytickets using the Promo Code: FAM4 or contacting the Govs Ticket Office at 931.221.PEAY (7329).

Next Up For APSU Men’s Basketball

The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team hit the road Saturday for a showdown with Tennessee Tech at 7:30pm. APSU returns home Monday, January 31st for a match-up with SIU Edwardsville before its rivalry contest against Murray State, Thursday, February 3rd.

Follow The APSU Govs

For all the latest information on Austin Peay State University Athletics, please visit letsgopeay.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the APSU Govs on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Box Score

Belmont 75, Austin Peay 67

Belmont Stats

Austin Peay Stats