CARBONDALE, Ill. – Despite the freshman duo of Elijah Hutchins-Everett and Caleb Stone-Carrawell combining for 37 points, the Austin Peay men's basketball team dropped its first game of the season on the road at Southern Illinois, 73-55 on Friday night.

It was a stellar night offensively for Hutchins-Everett and Stone-Carrawell, each registering career-highs against the Salukis. Hutchins-Everett led the Govs with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field with two three-pointers. The freshman center scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half.

Stone-Carrawell notched a career-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. The Concord, N.C., native was 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line to go along with four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Stone-Carrawell notched his second career double-digit performance and first as a Gov.

Junior Cameron Copeland ranked third on the team with seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field with three assists in 19 minutes. Redshirt senior Tariq Silver in 27 minutes scored five points followed by fellow redshirt senior Corbin Merritt with four and redshirt junior DJ Peavy with two.

As a team the Govs shot 39.7 percent from the field and was 5-of-21 from behind the three-point line. Southern Illinois outrebounded Austin Peay, 37-25, holding a 10-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Each team had 11 turnovers on the night with the Govs scoring 13 points off of SIU mistakes.

It was a quick start for the Govs to quiet the raucous Southern Illinois, making four of their first six field goals to take a 9-4 lead. The hot start was highlighted by jumpers from Stone-Carrawell, Copeland and a three-pointer from Hutchins-Everett.

Hutchins-Everett was dominant in the early stages, scoring eight of the Govs first 14 points as APSU held a 14-7 lead at the 14:37 mark of the first half. The lead didn't last long as SIU embarked on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game with 11:20 remaining.

Both teams traded baskets midway through the first half prior to Hutchins-Everett rattling off four straight points to give APSU a 24-21 lead. The Orange, N.J., native scored an easy lay-up to give the Govs a one-point lead before knocking down a jumper on the next possession to extend the Govs lead to three. Leading 24-21, Austin Peay went scoreless from the field for over three minutes as the Salukis battled back to earn a one-point advantage.

With the clock winding down to end the first half, Stone-Carrawell connected on his first triple of the night to give the Govs a 27-25 lead heading into the locker room. The Govs shot 37.9 percent in the first half and was just 2-of-9 from long distance. Austin Peay was dominant on the boards in the first half, outrebounding SIU, 19-13, with an 8-2 advantage on the offensive glass.

The second half did not start like the first for Austin Peay as the Salukis made three of its first four field goals to regain the lead. SIU ultimately went on a 20-4 run in a seven-minute stretch to earn a double-digit lead at 47-36 with 13:20 to play.

Austin Peay cut its deficit down to 14 at the halfway point of the second half after a 15-foot jumper from Corbin Merritt. However, the Govs were unable to take advantage of the momentum as the Salukis forced back-to-back turnovers and extended its lead to 62-44 with seven minutes left.

The Govs looked to rally late in the second half, cutting the Southern Illinois lead down to 11 after a three from Silver followed by an and-one from Copeland. The Govs were unable to close the gap late in the second half as Southern Illinois ended the game on a 9-2 run to earn the 73-55 victory on Friday night.

NOTABLES

• Freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett had 14 of his career-high 19 points in the first half
• In the first two games of his career, Hutchins-Everett is averaging 18.0 points and 6.5 rebounds
• Redshirt freshman Caleb Stone-Carrawell had nine of his career-high 18 points in the first half
• Hutchins-Everett and Stone-Carrawell combined for 37 of the team's 55 points
• APSU went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line
• The Govs went 5-of-21 from behind the three-point line
  • The Govs have now made at least one three-pointer in 611 consecutive games
• APSU has led at halftime in each game this season

UP NEXT
The Govs continue their five-game road swing with a trip to Fort Wayne, Ind., for a match-up with Purdue Fort-Wayne on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

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