SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas--Cold second-half shooting doomed Austin Peay, Saturday, as it fell to Valparaiso during its final game in the South Padre Island Invitational.
Austin Peay fell 61-47 to Valparaiso to drop to 2-3 on the season. The Govs led by as many as nine points in the first half - holding a 29-27 halftime lead - but shot a woeful 20.7 percent in the second half in scoring just 18 points.
The Govs were led by senior Fernandez Lockett's double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds--it was his 13 career double-double. Sophomore Wes Channels added 12 points. Austin Peay shot 19 of 57 from the field in the game, including an abysmal 3 of 23 from three. The Govs managed only 6 of 29 in the second half and 1 for 13 three pointers.
The Govs stayed in the game (they were down by two with 2:45 left) by forcing 21 Valparaiso turnovers. However, the Crusaders outscored APSU 12-2 in the final 2:30 to finally pull away.
Junior Drake Reed was named to the South Padre Island Invitational All-Tournament Team.
APSU watched Valpo shoot 57.9 percent in the second half, 50 percent overall. More importantly, the Crusaders nailed 6-of-8 three pointers in the second half.
The Govs return to action with a 7 p.m., Tuesday contest at Memphis. Contact the APSU Ticket Office at 931.221.7761 or visit www.gotigersgo.com for tickets.
Head Coach Dave Loos quotes:
On the second half:
"We could not make a shot in the second half. We relied too much on the jump shot and didn't penetrate against the zone. Somebody has to make a shot to loosen the zone. Until we can make a shot to make teams guard us, they're going to pack the zone in and we'll have a tough time."
On the Govs defense:
"We played hard defensively and really extended our defense. We can't let bigger teams settle in on us in the half court and we have to force turnovers to get easy shots. We don't have much of a choice but to extend and try to force turnovers if we can't make a shot."
On Todd Babington:
"Todd's doing way too much thinking. You can see him hesitate when he catches it. This is not a mind thing; this is a catch and shoot thing. When you play against a zone you have to make shots or they'll just pack it and that's what happened today."
On Drake Reed
"Drake was really frustrated, but you've got to keep your composure. We're not going to be able to get inside until we can make some shots."
On the Govs overall South Padre Island Invitational performance:
"We have to move on. We'd like to think we can shoot it a little better in the future. We played very good and very bad in a 48-hour period. Defensively, we got after it pretty well and forced a lot of turnovers. We have got to take advantage of those and put some points on the board."
-AP-
