Barcelona, Spain – Austin Peay State University (APSU) basketball senior Darius Dawson scored 17 second-half points in a 21-point effort as the Governors earned their first win outside the United States since 2012 in a 74-58 victory against Barcelona Team Select 2, Friday.
The international win is Austin Peay State University’s first since the 2012 Canadian Exhibition Tour Presented by Basketball Travelers Inc., in which the Govs won 2-of-3 games in Toronto in August 2012.
Dawson led the Governors with 21 points – all coming within the arc – while Quan Lax followed yesterday’s 17-point performance with 16 in the win against Barcelona.
For the second-straight day, Lax got the scoring going, this time with a driving layup, but Barcelona answered with five-straight points from the free throw line to take their largest lead of the afternoon. Charity stripe points by Akili Evans gave the APSU Govs an 11-10 lead midway through the opening frame and sparked a 22-3 APSU scoring run that stretched into the second quarter.
The Governors led 22-12 through 10 minutes and had six student-athletes find the scoring column, with Lax’s five points pacing the team.
An Isaac Haney three-pointer and Anton Brookshire two opened the second quarter, while Hansel Enmanuel followed his fellow returners in scoring with a highlight-reel (because that’s what he does) transition dunk.
Austin Peay State University’s advantage was trimmed to as few as 15 points in the second quarter, but it was answered with a 7-3 run to close the half and lead 43-23 at the break.
And then came the Dawson Show.
From ferocious dunks, to acrobatic layups, Dawson began his second-half tirade with eight points in the third quarter, and was assisted in the scoring column with another Brookshire three-pointer, and two-pointers by Haney and Lax.
Barcelona cut the Govs’ advantage to 11 points early in the quarter, but Dawson went on to score nine of APSU’s final 11 points to help lead the Govs to a commanding victory.
Takeaways & Notes
- The Governors now are 1-1 all-time in Spain, and will play the Espana rubber match, Saturday.
- After taking a 22-12 lead to end the first quarter, the Govs never gave up their double-digit advantage.
- Darius Dawson. He’s athletic, explosive, can catch the alley – which was on full display late in the first quarter when LJ Thomas threw him up one – and seems like he can do a litte bit of everything on the hardwood.
- Quan Lax is consistent. Lax was the APSU Govs’ leading scorer yesterday in the buzzer-beater loss, and followed his 17-point effort with 16 in the victory. He also is a physical defender and held his own against defenders larger than his 6-2 frame.
- This team is a lot of fun to watch. This was just the second time this team has faced someone other than themselves, and it’s only August, but the communication, athleticism, basketball IQ, and connection that this team shares already makes it enjoyable to watch.
- Anton Brookshire can make an impact. He made a trio of triples today to finish with 13 points. After redshirting last season and having a season to grow into head Coach Corey Gipson‘s system, it will be interesting to see the type of role he plays this season.
- Coach Gipson rolled out the starting lineup of LJ Thomas, Quan Lax, Isaac Haney, Akili Evans, and Daniel Loos this afternoon. With the one difference being Loos in instead of Enmanuel.
Up Next
The Governors depart from Barcelona and will take a train ride to Madrid in the morning where they prepare for a 12:00pm (CEST), August 10th game against the Madrid Select Team.
