Nashville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) basketball team was held to a season-low 31.7% from the field in an 85-55 loss at Vanderbilt, Saturday, in Memorial Gymnasium.
LJ Thomas scored a game-high 20 points in his return after three games, while Tate McCubbin had his second-straight double-figure scoring performance with 10 points and six rebounds in the decision.
A Vanderbilt turnover on its first offensive possession resulted in an Isaac Haney layup for the day’s first points. The Commodores responded with nine-straight points after making four-straight attempts from the field.
The Commodores made 10-straight attempts from the field to take a 36-12 lead with 7:37 remaining in the opening half, before a Daniel Loos jumper in the paint sparked an 8-4 APSU run over the next four minutes to cut its deficit to 40-20 with 2:36 to play in the opening half. However, Vanderbilt scored the final seven points of the period to lead 47-20 heading into the locker room.
The Governors and Commodores split the first eight points of the second half, before Vanderbilt extended its lead to 61-27 prior to the under-12 media timeout.
After Vanderbilt took a game-high 41-point lead with 7:50 to play, the Governors scored 11 of the game’s next 12 points over the next two and a half minutes, with Thomas scoring half of APSU’s points in that span.
Back-to-back jumpers by Tekao Carpenter and Darius Dawson were the final points of the game, as the Commodores won, 85-55.
The Difference
The first half. The Governors were outscored just 38-35 in the second half, but were unable to erase a 27-point halftime deficit.
Box Score Bullets
Austin Peay State University fell to 2-18 all-time against Vanderbilt and 1-14 against the Commodores in Nashville.
LJ Thomas led APSU with 20 points, his seventh time leading the Govs in scoring this season.
LJ Thomas’ 20 points marked his fifth 20-point game of the season.
Austin Peay State University’s starting five of Tate McCubbin, Sai Witt, Isaac Haney, LJ Thomas, and Terrell Gaines was its 10th different starting lineup of the season.
Terrell Gaines earned his first-career start against the Commodores. He is the 11th Gov to start at least one game this season.
With Tate McCubbin’s three-pointer with 8:30 to play in the first half, Austin Peay State University extended its record for consecutive games with a three-pointer to 713 games, a streak that began February 23rd, 2002 against Southeast Missouri in the season finale.
Follow the APSU Govs
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Next Up For APSU Men’s Basketball
After a break for Christmas, the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team’s next return to the court for a December 29th, 4:00pm game against Brescia at F&M Bank Arena in the nonconference finale. Following the game against the Bearcats, APSU begins ASUN Conference play in the Sunshine State against North Florida on January 2nd in Jacksonville, Florida. The game begins at 1:00pm.
