CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia—Senior Tre' Ivory and freshman Dayton Gumm supplied a steadying presence in the backcourt, but it was not enough for the Govs to overcome Virginia, Monday, in the second game of the NIT Tip-Off Classic.
Unfortunately, the Govs were on the wrong side of the 93-49 final from John Paul Jones Arena, bringing an end to what on its face will be the most difficult two-game stretch in head coach Matt Figger's first season at the helm.
Virginia simply got out to a torrid start; after missing their first three three-point attempts, the Cavs were 8-for-14 from beyond the arc the rest of the night.
The Difference
The turnover battle was decidedly one-sided; Austin Peay committed 20, leading directly to 29 Virginia points, while the Cavaliers nine turnovers only yielded six Governor points.
Notably
- Gumm supplied a spark off the bench. In his second game, the Bowling Green native poured in 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting, marking the second night in a row a newcomer from Bowling Green led the Govs in scoring.
- Ivory scored a career-high 10 points, his first-ever double-figure scoring outing.
- Senior Averyl Ugba's 10 points were his most during his still-young Austin Peay career.
They Said It
Coaching Quotables with Head Coach Matt Figger
Press conference opening statement: "It's a good opportunity always to go on the road and play a team like Virginia that's so well coached. Tony's one of the best, not only coaches in the business, he's one of the best people in the business. You guys got a treasure of a coach here. He is such a genuine human being. I was joking with him before the game. My first two games coaching I got to coach probably against two of the nicer guys in the business. Hats off to those guys, they played well today. If anybody questioned what their offense was, we gave them the confidence to get their offense back. You can put that one to rest. I thought they played extremely well tonight."
On physicality: "You can't simulate their physicality. They were big and strong, one-through-five. We played a bunch of men tonight and I can't simulate that. When we got hit, some of our guys didn't want to get in there."
On Gumm: "I felt like he and Richard Henderson had no fear. My biggest struggle with those two guys is the learning side of what we do offensively, but because they're our two best athletes I can get them on the floor more. I had to let them go in and learn tonight."
Up Next for the Govs
It'll be a quick turnaround for the home opener against Oakland City. Originally scheduled for Nov. 16, the contest was moved up to a 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 15 slot to better accommodate the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference volleyball tournament.
