Jacksonville, FL – Trailing by as many as 16 points, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) basketball team took a one-point lead with under seven minutes remaining and never looked back, utilizing a 63-point second half to earn a 97-89 victory against North Florida in its Atlantic Sun Conference opener, Thursday, at UNF Arena.
Three Governors scored 20-plus points, while five reached double figures as Austin Peay (6-8, 1-0 ASUN) opened ASUN play 1-0 for the second-straight season.
Anton Brookshire paced the Governors with a career-best 25 points while going 14-for-14 from the charity stripe. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native was followed in scoring by LJ Thomas and Sai Witt’s 23-point performances. Tate McCubbin notched his fourth-straight double-figure scoring game with 13 points, while Quan Lax scored 11 in the win.
North Florida (7-7, 0-1 ASUN) opened the game with a 13-4 lead after going 6-for-7 from the field. The Govs cut its deficit to three at 16-13 with 13:00 remaining in the half following JaVar Daniel’s lone basket of the afternoon off a steal and assist by McCubbin. A steal and dunk in transition by McCubbin 1:18 later tied the two at 18 over midway through the first half.
After battling back and forth, a UNF layup gave the Ospreys a 30-26 lead with 6:06 remaining, sparking a three-minute, 14-0 run to lead 42-26 with under a 180 seconds remaining in the half.
Back-to-back triples by McCubbin and Brookshire cut the Govs’ deficit to 10 at the two-minute mark of the half and APSU maintained its deficit heading into the halftime break, trailing 44-34 through 20 minutes.
The APSU Govs were held to 2-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, as UNF went 4-for-10 from three and 18-for-32 from the field.
And then came the second half.
APSU and UNF combined to score 24 points in the opening four minutes of the second period, with the Govs outscoring the Ospreys16-8 in that span to cut a formerly, 10-point lead to 52-50 following a pair of free throws by Thomas.
Despite the Govs’ offensive spark, UNF maintained at least a one-score lead through the opening 10 minutes of the second period. A perfect trip to the line by Thomas tied the two sides for the first time since the 11:42 mark of the first half.
After exchanging scores for the next three minutes, a shooting foul by UNF’s Oscar Berry sent Brookshire to the line for a pair. Brookshire made both his attempts from the line, giving the Govs a 72-71 lead with 6:56 to play – APSU’s first lead since a 4-2 advantage 1:12 into regulation.
Including his makes from the stripe, Brookshire scored 11 of APSU’s 12 points between 8:35-5:00, with his final points of the stretch sparking a 12-0 APSU run to give the Govs a game-high 12-point lead.
McCubbin’s third three-pointer of the night put the Govs up 87-75 with under two minutes to play, and was APSU’s final make from the field, as its final 10 points of the night came from the free throw line in as many attempts.
The Difference
Free throws. Austin Peay State University went 34-or-39 from the stripe, including 28-for-29 in the second half. Those 34 free throws are the most since making 37 against Southeast Missouri on January 29th, 2008.
Too add to that, only three Govs attempted free throws during the win, with Sai Wit going 7-for-10, LJ Thomas going 13-for-15, and Anton Brookshire going 14-for-14.
Box Score Bullets
Austin Peay State University opened conference play with a win for the second-straight season.
The Governors’ 97 points are tied for the most in a conference opener in program history, matching a 97-71 victory against Tennessee Tech on January 10th, 1987, in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Austin Peay State University’s 63 second-half points are its most in a single half since scoring 65 points in the first half of a 116-36 victory against Calvary on December 8th, 2018.
With the win, his 25th at the helm of his alma mater, head coach Corey Gipson moved into sole possession of ninth all-time in head coaching wins. Gipson previously was tied for ninth with Scott Alden who was the second head coach in program history (1930-33). Gipson’s next mark on the all-time coaching wins list is the program’s first-ever head coach, Halbert Harvills’ 29 victories (1929-30, 1933-36).
Anton Brookshire had a career-high and team-best 25 points in the win. That mark surpasses his previous career-high of 22 set during his sophomore season at Iona against Saint Peter’s (2/18/23).
Brookshire’s 25 points are tied for the second-most by a Governor this season and trail only LJ Thomas’ 29 points at Butler on November 8th.
Brookshire (25 points), Sai Witt (23) and LJ Thomas’ (23) scoring performances marks the first time three Govs have scored 20-plus points since Witt (33), Dezi Jones (22), and Ja’Monta Black’s (21) game against North Florida last regular season (2/3/24).
Brookshire’s 14 free throws were the most made by a governor since Josh Robinson made 17 against SIU Evansville (1/21/16).
Brookshire’s 14-for-14 mark the most free throws in a 100% night since Jim Beshears went 17-for-17 during the 1961-62 season.
Austin Peay State University held North Florida – that NCAA leader in made and attempted three-pointers per game – to a season-low six made triples on 17 attempts.
APSU erased a halftime deficit for the first time this season.
Austin Peay State University’s win against North Florida marked its first ASUN Conference win in the State of Florida in program history.
APSU improved to 6-3 all-time against UNF and 1-3 against the Ospreys in Jacksonville.
Austin Peay State University improved to 1-0 on Thursday’s this season and 6-1 under head coach Corey Gipson.
The Governors’ 97 points are a season-high and the most since scoring 101 against North Florida in the ASUN Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals against North Florida last season.
The Governors improved to 3-0 when scoring at least 90 points this season and 8-1 under Gipson.
APSU shot 51.9% from the field and 41.2% from three-point range. It now is 5-0 this season when shooting at least 45% from the field and 35% from three-point range.
Austin Peay State University’s starting lineup of Sai Witt, LJ Thomas, Akili Evans, Quan Lax, and Hansel Enmanuel was its 12th different starting five of the season and 11th straight.
Follow the APSU Govs
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Next Up For APSU Men’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team doesn’t have to go far for their second game of ASUN play, as they’ll remain in Jacksonville to face Jacksonville in a Saturday 2:00pm CT contest at Swisher Gymnasium.
