TROY, Alabama—Once more, Austin Peay State University men's basketball team had to shake off a slow start and rally to force overtime on the road.
But for the Governors, this one turned out a little differently as Austin Peay (3-4) persevered to defeat Troy (3-4) in a gutty 79-74 victory at Trojan Arena for the Governors first true road victory of the season.
A disconcerting recurring theme of late has been getting off to a slow start and Thursday night was unfortunately more of the same. Although Steve Harris hit 50 percent from the floor in the first half and Zach Glotta knocked down a pair of important three-pointers, it was first half defined by largely by defensive exploits. Both teams combined to hit just 21-of-67 (31.3 percent) from the floor and 15 first-half turnovers, although a late Trojan run handed the hosts a 31-24 lead at halftime.
The second half was an entirely different story. Both teams stepped up their shooting over the next 20 minutes and the Govs ripped off a 17-7 run to open the half, with Terry Taylor—held scoreless in the first half—accounting for eight of those points, the last off a three-pointer to give the Govs their first lead since the 14:50 mark of the first half.
Troy answered and the teams engaged in a wild back-and-forth that saw both snatch the upper hand at various times. A 6-0 Trojan run turned an Austin Peay lead into a five-point deficit at the eight-minute mark, but a Glotta three-pointer halted a four-minute scoring drought and soon the Governors had tied the game again.
Down three with 1:49 to go, Porter-Bunton took over, sinking two lay-ups and hitting two free-throws as the Govs went up five with under a minute remaining. But Darian Adams converted a three-point play for the Trojans and Javan Johnson collected a putback dunk with six seconds remaining to tie the game up. A Harris floater drew iron and the Govs were once more headed for overtime.
Glotta got the period off to a good start with a three, and after the teams traded buckets throughout the extra session, another Glotta long ball with 30 seconds remaining put the Govs back up a bucket. A missed Troy three was rebounded by Dayton Gumm, and the sophomore converted 3-of-4 at the line late to put the game away for the Govs.
The Difference
The Governors made Troy pay for their mistakes, turning 19 Trojan turnovers into 21 points. Austin Peay's 16 miscues only led to 11 points for the Trojans.
Notably
- In his season's first start, Glotta led the Govs with 17 points and played a career-high 43 minutes. He's now hit 16 consecutive free-throws dating back to last season.
- Givens' four three-pointers equaled his season high from his debut night against Oakland City.
- The victory makes Austin Peay 5-0 all-time against Troy and 40-18 against the Sun Belt overall; the Govs have won six straight against the Sun Belt dating back to 2013.
- Porter-Bunton's second career double-double (16 points, 15 rebounds) also saw him set a career high in rebounds and play a career-high 41 minutes.
- Gumm scored his 400th career point as a Governor.
- The win is Austin Peay's first overtime victory since Feb. 1, 2017 at Eastern Kentucky.
- With 12 points, Harris has already scored in double figures five times in 2018-19.
- The win snapped a 16-game losing streak in true road non-conference contests, dating back to Dec. 20, 2015 at Lipscomb.
- Troy set a season-low in three-pointers made (four) and percentage (15.4) by an Austin Peay opponent.
- The victory is Austin Peay's first when getting outrebounded by 10 or more since Nov. 20, 2016 against Delaware.
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Coaching Quotables with Head Coach Matt Figger
On being proud of the guys
"I'm unbelievably proud. We've been in this position in the last three true road games we've played. It was time for us to get the stops and do things we needed to do. Were we perfect? No. But our heart was perfect, we never quit and that says a lot about the character of this team."
On the first half
"We were getting good shots. We didn't make them. We became a jump-shooting team after Terry picked up his second foul. But the character of our guys stepped out."
Up Next for the Govs
The final game of the road trip comes to an end Saturday as the Govs face Alabama A&M in Huntsville, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
