Clarksville, TN – Stacheville is Dunk City! The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team threw down three dunks Thursday, including two by Shon Robinson, to increase its season total to 28 and got 10 points from Rodrique Massenat, Sean Durugordon, and Carlos Paez in a 61-59 win over Florida Gulf Coast inside the Winfield Dunn Center.
The Governors won their fourth-straight game overall and earned the first ASUN Conference victory in program history while ending the Eagles’ five-game win streak.
Massenat, making his Austin Peay (7-9, 1-2 ASUN) debut, did all of his damage in the first 20 minutes, going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep.
Durugordon finished in double figures for the eighth-consecutive game and ninth time in the last 10. Paez celebrated his birthday a day early by going 3-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc to go along with four assists, leaving him nine shy of passing Caleb Brown (382 assists from 2007-11) for fourth on the school’s all-time list.
Jalen Ware narrowly missed his first career double-double after tallying nine points and as many rebounds in the win. Robinson ended with eight points and shot 3-of-4 inside the arc. Guy Fauntleroy had seven points and dished out three assists.
Austin Peay State University shot 42 percent (21-of-50) overall and went to the charity stripe 20 times, making 13 attempts. Nate James‘ squad had 11 second chance points, compared to just seven for the Eagles. The Red and White had 10 steals and improved to 6-1, including four-straight wins, in their last seven games when recording double digits.
The APSU Govs erased a six-point deficit at the 5:39 mark of the first half with a 15-2 run over the next 5:13. Massenat and Fauntleroy combined for 13 points during the stretch. Massenat connected on a pair of treys, and his layup preceded a Robinson two-handed flush in transition to make the score 28-21.
Austin Peay State University took a 28-23 advantage into intermission on the strength of 45.5 percent (10-of-22) shooting in the first period while limiting Florida Gulf Coast (12-4, 2-1 ASUN) to 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from the field and 20 percent (1-of-5) from distance.
APSU opened up their first double-digit lead of the night, 52-42, at the 4:33 mark when Cameron Copeland scored consecutive baskets in transition as part of his team’s second 7-0 run of the period. Austin Peay’s advantage swelled to as many as 11 with 2:33 to play when a Paez jumper in the paint made the score 56-45.
The Eagles countered with a 10-0 run, as back-to-back Chase Johnston treys cut his team’s deficit to 56-55 with 32 seconds remaining. However, the Governors made 5-of-7 free throws down the stretch to ice their second win in as many games in the series.
With his team trailing 60-57 with 4.2 seconds to play, Zach Anderson was given three free throws after being fouled near midcourt, but the reigning ASUN Player of the Week missed the second attempt, preserving a one-point edge for James’ team.
Florida Gulf Coast shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) overall, 40 percent (6-of-15) from 3, and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the line but committed a season-high 19 turnovers, leading to 23 Governors’ points.
Next Up For APSU Men’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team hosts Central Arkansas on Saturday in the second of three-straight contests in the Dunn Center. The game starts at 4:30pm
