FAYETTEVILLE—Despite a game-high 23 points from senior John Murry, Austin Peay State University men's basketball team couldn't keep pace with a high-octane Arkansas Razorback squad at Bud Walton Arena, Saturday.
The Govs fell 99-62 thanks in no small part to the Razorbacks desire to run; head coach Mike Anderson's "Fastest 40 minutes in basketball" philosophy was on display thanks to a 28-7 advantage in transition points. The Razorbacks were able to push the pace thanks to a sizable (47-31) advantage on the boards.
Austin Peay held tough early, taking and making a number of looks in space through the game's first six minutes. After Murry converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 14:04 mark, the Governors held a 15-14 lead.
Arkansas then went on a 23-5 to push the lead to 17, but the Govs displayed resiliency late in the first half. Austin Peay closed on an 11-4 run over the final 4:07, with Murry accounting for nine of those points, including a three with 29 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 10 going into the break.
The Razorbacks imposed their will early in the second half, opening the final frame on a 41-10 run that included 13 transition points. Murry and senior Assane Diop (seven points each) led the Governor attack in the second half. Adrio Bailey had 10 of his team-high 14 points in the second half for Arkansas.
The Difference
Rebounds. The Razorbacks won the battle of the boards 47-31, which included a 12-rebound advantage on the defensive glass (28-16). Senior Kenny Jones led the Govs with five boards, but three separate Razorbacks had more snares off the glass.
Notably
- After never cracking the 20-point barrier through the first 31 games of his Austin Peay career, Murry has now broken the 20-point threshold in back-to-back contests.
- The Govs managed just one steal, equaling a season-low.
- Sophomore Chris Porter-Bunton pulled down his 100th career rebound.
- Widely-renowned for their three-point prowess, the Govs couldn't find the range against the Razorbacks, hitting 4-of-17 (23.6 percent) from beyond the arc. It was a season-low and the fewest since the 2015 season-opener at Vanderbilt.
- For the third time in four games, junior Josh Robinson posted at least five assists. Unfortunately, his streak of consecutive games in double figures came to an end at 24.
- Senior Assane Diop's nine points off the bench were his most against a Division I foe since a 10-point outing at Eastern Kentucky, Feb. 23, 2015.
Tweet-Tweet
Coaching Quotables with Head Coach Dave Loos
"I thought we fought back there toward the end of the first half. Our goal at that last timeout with about three minutes to go was to get it to 10 or under and we were able to do that. The second half, we came out a different team, obviously, and so did they. We failed to contest a bunch of shots, but the thing I was most impressed with from Arkansas was their defense and rebounding; we just could not rebound with them."
"They're willing to do the dirty work. I use them as an example to our team; they grind it out. They'll guard you and keep the pressure up all night. They rebound and get after loose balls. I'm more impressed with them on the defensive end than anything."
Up Next for the Govs
Austin Peay travels to Fort Wayne for the back end of a home-and-home season series with the Mastodons; Fort Wayne held on for a wild 103-99 victory in the Dunn Center, Nov. 30.
