Clarksville, TN – Graduate student Sai Witt scored a career-high 30 points, while junior Isaac Haney hit a go-ahead three-pointer from the left wing with under 90 seconds to play in the second overtime period of Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team’s 95-91 Atlantic Sun Conference double-overtime victory over North Florida, Saturday, on Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena.
Witt scored 20 points after halftime against the Ospreys, with nine points coming in the overtime periods. He was followed by two other 20-point scorers in Dezi Jones (22 points) and Ja’Monta Black (21 points).
Black connected on a game-high six three-pointers which brought his season total to 80 – the sixth-most in a single season in program history and most since Travis Betran’s 84 during the 2012-13 season – while Jones’ eight assists are the most by a Governor this season. Jones accounted for a game-high 43 points in the victory, with six of his eight dimes – and each of the last four – resulting in three-pointers.
Austin Peay (11-13, 4-5 ASUN) never trailed in regulation and made three of its first four attempts from the field to take a 7-2 lead less than four minutes in. After a trio of misses prior to the first media break, the APSU Govs responded with four straight makes to extend the advantage to 16-8 nine minutes into the contest.
Five-straight North Florida (13-11, 6-3 ASUN) points trimmed the APSU Govs’ lead to three with nine minutes remaining in the half, but a three-pointer by Black ended the Ospreys’ brief scoring run. A Witt old-fashioned three-point play gave the Govs a 22-15 lead at the 7:13 mark of the first half and began a streak of four consecutive makes for the hometown Governors.
The Ospreys trimmed their deficit to as few as five points in the first half, but the Govs held a seven-point lead at the break after connecting on 50 percent of their shots from the field (15-of-30), and five of their 11 attempts from long-range, while limiting UNF – who entered the day as the nation’s best three-point shooting team by makes and attempts per game – to just 2-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Witt made four of his five first-half attempts to lead the game with 10 points in 20 minutes of action, and was following in the scoring column by Jones’ nine points.
A three-minute, 14-2 APSU run extended the Govs’ advantage to a game-high 16 points at 55-39 with just over 13 minutes remaining in regulation following Black’s fifth triple of the night; however, UNF directly responded with a 15-2 run to make it a three-point game past the midway point of the second half. UNF then made it a one-point game on the possession prior to the final media timeout – the closest the game had been at that point.
Three-pointers by Black and White and a layup by Witt extended the Govs’ lead to nine points with 82 seconds to play, but the Ospreys made four of their six attempts in the final 1:04 of regulation and scored a basket with less than seconds remaining to force overtime.
After a split trip to the line by Witt to open the first overtime, UNF drained a three-pointer to take a 74-73 lead – its first of the game – on its second possession of the period and took its largest lead of the game at five points after Chaz Lanier scored his 11th point of overtime with 1:06 remaining.
A Haney three-pointer was followed by a Jones steal and coast-to-coast finish to tie the game with 28 seconds remaining. UNF had the ball on the last possession of the first overtime period, but missed the would-be game-winning triple with seconds on the clock.
On to the next OT.
The Governors and Ospreys exchanged the first 16 points in the second overtime’s first three minutes, until Haney made a deep three-pointer from the left wing to break a 90-90 stalemate in what proved to be the final dagger of the night.A split attempt at the line by Lanier was answered by back-to-back Witt free throws, as the Govs came away with the four-point, 95-91 win on their home court.
The Difference
Three-pointers. North Florida entered the game, leading the nation with 12.3 three-pointers per game and 34.0 attempts per game. The APSU Govs held them to just seven makes and 18 attempts while making 13 of 28 of their long-range attempts.
Inside the Box Score
Austin Peay State University claimed its fourth ASUN win of the season – its most in the program’s two-year history in the conference.
The double-overtime victory is APSU’s first since defeating SIU Edwardsville on January 31st, 2021.
Sai Witt tallied a career-high 30 points in the win. It is the second 30-point performance by a Gov this season and the first since DeMarcus Sharp scored 33 points against Sacramento State in the 2023 SoCal Challenge on November 22nd.
The Governors had three players – Sai Witt (30 points), Dezi Jones (22 points), and Ja’Monta Black (21 points) – score at least 20 points for the second time this season and second time in the last eight seasons.
Austin Peay State University made its second-most three-pointers in a game this season with 13. It trailed only a program-record 17 triples against Life in the season opener, Nov. 6.
The APSU Govs’ 46.4 three-point percentage is its third-best mark of 2023-24.
Austin Peay State University made 52.1 percent of its shots from the field – its third-best field-goal percentage this season and second-most in an ASUN Conference contest, trailing only a 54.5 mark against Central Arkansas, January 20th.
Dez White, Isaac Haney, and Ja’Monta Black all went the distance, playing 50 minutes in the win.
With his six three-pointers against the Ospreys, Ja’Monta Black moved to sixth all-time in single-season triples with 80. He is 23 away from breaking the single-season record held by Todd Babbington in 2007-08.
Austin Peay State University matched its season’s best mark with 44 points in the paint, which was set against Lipscomb on January 13th.
Despite playing two overtime periods, the Govs turned the ball over just six times and forced double the number of UNF miscues.
After being limited to 43 points in the last game against Jacksonville – the lowest score in an ASUN game in program history – the APSU Govs’ notched their best offensive performance of the conference slate and in the program’s brief ASUN history with 95 points tonight.Austin State University improved to 8-1 at home this season.
Dezi Jones tallied a season-high eight assists, which is also the most assists by a governor in 2023-24. Jones’ eight dimes translated into 21 points, with six of them coming on made three-pointers.
Follow The APSU Govs
For news and updates throughout the Governors 2023-24 season, follow the APSU men’s basketball team on X and Instagram (@GovsMBB), on Facebook (Austin Peay Men’s Basketball), or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
Next Up For APSU Men’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball continues a three-game homestand in a Thursday 7:00pm contest against the reigning ASUN champions, Kennesaw State, which is a black out and Let’s “Glow” Peay Night at F&M Bank Arena.
