DAYTON, Ohio—Austin Peay State University men's basketball team couldn't solve a red-hot Dayton offense in Friday's season opener against the Flyers, falling 96-68 despite 26 points from junior Josh Robinson.
The Governors fell behind early due to a combination of cold shooting—the Govs missed nine of their first 11 shots--and Dayton's Charles Cooke scored 14 of the Flyers first 20 points in the opening half.
Robinson kept pushing the pace for the Govs in the first half. He punctuated an 8-1 Austin Peay run with a three from the left wing at the 10:40 mark in the opening half to get the Govs within four, but Dayton reeled off a 20-6 run over the next seven minutes to put some distance between themselves and Austin Peay.
Austin Peay's second half was considerably better than its first; the Governors improved their shooting across the board, hitting 44.8 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from beyond the arc and going a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Robinson led the way with 26 points, hitting 8-of-17 from the floor. Sophomore Chris Porter-Bunton chipped in 10 points and eight boards, while seniors Kenny Jones and John Murry and sophomore Zach Glotta had nine apiece. Senior Assane Diop relentlessly crash the board with a game- and career-high 10 rebounds.
The Difference
Dayton looked to run in transition and they did so effectively, outscoring the Govs 33-5 on fast-break points. But Cooke was the one man Austin Peay could not get a handle on; Cooke led all scorers with 31 points, including 24 in the first half alone, hitting 11-of-17 from the floor and knocking down five threes.
Notably
- Diop's 10 rebounds nearly doubled his previous career high; he had six at Eastern Kentucky Feb. 23, 2015. He also played a career-high 26 minutes and scored his 100th career point.
- It's the sixth-straight road opener dropped by Austin Peay and the third consecutive regular-season opening loss.
- Robinson's 26 point-performance was the best by a Gov in the season opener since Tyshwan Edmondson had 20 against Middle Tennessee to open the 2011-12 campaign. He now needs 70 points for 1,000 in his Austin Peay career.
- The Govs averaged 39.6 percent from deep in wins last season and 29.7 percent in losses; those numbers held true against the Flyers, who held Austin Peay to 31.8 percent from three.
- Glotta equaled his career high with three three-pointers.
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Coaching Quotables
"I hope we don't have many (shooting) nights like that, because that was our fault. We were taking bad shots, stayed on the dribble too much, didn't move the ball, which aided their defense. They came out locked in on defense, they were ready to go." – Head Coach Dave Loos.
Up Next For the Govs
The home opener is up next for Austin Peay when the Govs host Oakland City for a 7 p.m., Monday, date at the Dunn Center.
