The improbable sequence of events that even got Austin Peay into the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament would be somewhat legendary in their own right.
After a February 20 loss at home to Murray State, the Governors stood at 12-17 overall, 5-9 in the OVC with just two games remaining. Austin Peay needed wins and had to hope that either Jacksonville State or Tennessee Tech would upend Eastern Kentucky just to get Austin Peay back to the tournament.
Desperate for a spark, head coach Dave Loos tried something new, moving Josh Robinson to point guard and inserting freshman Jared Savage into the starting lineup on the wing for the Feb. 25 contest at SIU Edwardsville. The switch ignited the Govs, won both their final regular season contests, then got the lucky bounce they needed when Tennessee Tech took down the Colonels on the regular season's final night.
The Govs were going back to the OVC Tournament.
They wouldn't lose again until mid-March.
Tennessee Tech almost immediately regretted its season-ending win against the Colonels. Unable to contain Chris Horton (37 points, 21 rebounds), the Golden Eagles never stood a chance in the opening-round contest. Austin Peay closed the first half with a 19-10 run and blew Tennessee Tech out with a 92-72 win.
The quarterfinal contest against Tennessee State did not begin as promisingly—simply put, the Govs couldn't find the range early (10-for-26 from the floor in the first half) and trailed by 11 heading into the break. With 8:50 remaining in the contest, the deficit had crept to 18 points.
The Govs closed the game on a 32-12 run, highlighted by 10 points from Robinson, back-to-back-to-back threes from Savage and John Murry and tremendous defensive poise. After the improbable finish, the Govs would face OVC regular-season champion Belmont in the semifinals.
The matchup with the Bruins would become an instant classic. Horton (30 points, 16 boards) matched OVC Player of the Year Evan Bradds (32 points on 15-of-16 shooting) step for step, but the Govs trailed Belmont at halftime, 47-38, after the Bruins closed the first half with a 16-6 run.
But when you've already overcome a huge deficit like Austin Peay had the prior night, a nine-point deficit seems like no big deal. The Govs briefly took the lead near the middle of the second half, before the game turned into a chess match between Loos and Belmont's Rick Byrd. Neither squad would lead by more than a possession during the remainder of regulation, and Horton rebounded Bradds' lone miss of the night as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Horton put the Govs on his back in the extra period, scoring six of Austin Peay's eight points in overtime. Still, it appeared his effort would be for naught when Craig Bradshaw tipped in Austin Luke's missed three-pointer with no time left—initially called good, a replay review showed the ball left Bradshaw's hand a split-second late and was waved off, sparking a wild celebration of the Austin Peay faithful inside Municipal Auditorium.
Much like the United States still needed to defeat Finland after its 1980 'Miracle on Ice' victory against the Soviet Union, Austin Peay had one final hurdle to clear—a championship matchup against UT Martin.
A dunk by Horton with 11:38 remaining in the first half sparked a 10-0 Governors run, and they never trailed again—even after Horton went down with a leg injury. Any time it looked like the Skyhawks might mount a rally, Savage (24 points, eight three-pointers), Robinson (20 points), Murray (11 points, three three-pointers off the bench) or senior Khalil Davis (14 points) would nail a big shot to turn the tide back in Austin Peay's favor.
Prior to 2016, a No. 8 seed had ever won the OVC Tournament or had ever won four games in four days to take the crown. Austin Peay did both, with Horton earning Tournament MVP honors (Savage and Robinson were named All-Tournament as well) and sent the Governors to Des Moines for a date with top-seeded Kansas in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.
The next two weeks were a whirlwind for the Governors--appearances on CBS, ESPN and other places were just some of the highlights. Austin Peay's run, coupled with the #RallyForRhyan campaign for Loos' granddaughter Rhyan captured the nation's attention and made the Governors one of America's early-round darlings.
A still-hobbled Horton gutted out a 14-point, 13-rebound performance in the opening-round contest, and Robinson led all scorers with 24 points but the Govs were unable to contain the Jayhawks in a 105-79 loss—the 79 points put forth by Austin Peay was the fifth-most scored on Kansas in 2015-16.
2015-16 Top 10
No. 10 - Liermann a dynamo for APSU in her freshman campaign
No. 9 - APSU Track battles injury to remain among the OVC's best
No. 8 - Beach volleyball coming to Clarksville
No. 7 - Quartet of Govs picked in MLB draft
No. 6 - Yanes Garcia's historic season bodes well for APSU Tennis
No. 5 - Wild weekend for Austin Peay baseball at the OVC Tournament
No. 4 - APSU, Fortera Credit Union partner for football stadium naming rights
No. 3 - Horton caps his stellar APSU career in style
No. 2 - New faces abound at APSU
