CARBONDALE, Ill. – A tenacious defensive effort in which Austin Peay State University's basketball team held Southern Illinois without a field goal for the final 5:02 and come up with a last-second steal, coupled with standout performances by Dezi Jones and Ja'Monta Black led the Governors to a 70-68 victory against the Salukis, Tuesday, at the Banterra Center.

Black paced the Governors with 22 points and six three-pointers, while Jones and DeMarcus Sharp tied for second on the team with 12 points. Jones also posted season-high marks with eight rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks in the victory.

With 9.4 seconds remaining, Sai Witt steps up to the line. He misses the first and makes the second. 70-68 Govs. Timeout Austin Peay. The Salukis take it from the baseline, pass it to the second-leading scorer in Division I basketball, Xavier Johnson, he has his pocket picked by Sharp just before mid court. Jones falls on it, he and Johnson get tied up, jump ball, possession to the Govs. Sharp inbounds in front of his own bench, passes it to Jones who avoids getting fouled. Govs win and down goes the Salukis' 24-game nonconference home winning streak.

Now let's start from the beginning.

After leading by two in as many minutes to start the game, Southern Illinois (6-3) took its first lead of the night on three-pointer by Johnson and extended the lead on its next offensive possession.

Black knocked down his first triple of the night to begin a 9-0 Austin Peay (6-6) run following three-straight mid-range baskets by Sharp, with the final giving APSU a 13-7 advantage with 13:14 remaining in the opening half. Following the run, the Governors would be held scoreless until Black's second three of the night brought the teams to a 16-16 stalemate four minutes later. 

After both teams scored two-pointers on their next offensive possessions to make it 18 all, SIU went on a three-and-a-half minute,  12-0 run after making 3-of-4 attempts from the field and 4-of-5 free throws during the run to lead 32-20 with 5:08 left in the opening 20 minutes.

The two teams exchanged scores down the stretch of the first half, with APSU cutting its deficit to nine heading into the locker room.

Despite 10 first-half points by Sharp and a 48.3 field-goal percentage, the Govs trailed 40-31 at the break after SIU tallied a 55.6 clip from the field (15-of-27) and from beyond the arc (5-of-9).

A layup by SIU's Clarence Rupert after the half was quickly answered by a pair Black three-pointers, bringing the Govs with two scores for the first time since the opening 13 minutes of the game.

Following a brief momentum change that saw SIU take its final double-digit lead of the night at 48-37 with 15:02 remaining, the Govs stormed back with a three-minute, 12-2 run following yet another Black three-pointer. 

Exchanging baskets over the next five minutes, Austin Peay tied the game at 59 following a second-chance layup, and took its first lead of the night four possessions later on another pair of points by Witt in the paint. 

The Govs exchanged a two Johnson two-pointer – which proved to be the Salukis' final field goal of the evening –  for three as Jones drilled his lone triple of the second half to take a 64-61 lead. It was then answered by a perfect 3-for-3 trip to the line by SIU's Trent Brown after he was fouled on a three-point attempt. 

Jones scores off a step back, SIU's Johnson answers with a pair of charity stripe points. Back to even. 3:20 remaining.

After nearly three-straight minutes of scoreless basketball, Witt grabs his third offensive board and lays it in to put the Govs back up front with 47 seconds to play.

The Salukis miss a driving layup attempt, Black splits a pair of free throws at the line which is answered by a pair of points by Johnson at the line to cut the APSU lead to 69-68.

9.4 seconds remaining, and you already know how this story ends.

Govs leave Carbondale with a win for the second time in program history and first since Dec. 1995.

Up Next

The Governors head to the Bluegrass State for a 2 p.m., Dec. 16 game against long-time rival and former Ohio Valley Conference for, Western Kentucky.

The Difference

Late game-defense. Austin Peay held SIU to just two field-goal attempts in the final five minutes of regulation, with the Salukis missing both attempts. 

What the Peayple are Saying

Austin Peay storms back down double digits to upset Southern Illinois!

This comes after the Salukis SMOKED Saint Louis and squeezed past Oklahoma State at home.

The Govs played one of the best second half's of basketball that I've seen all season. Both ends of the court, CLUTCH

— Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) December 13, 2023

Inside the Box Score

• Austin Peay improved to 7-11 all-time against SIU and 2-8 all-time against it in Carbondale.
• Austin Peay ended the Salukis' 24-game home nonconference winning streak which began, Nov. 2019.
• Austin Peay extended its first winning streak of the season to three games.
• Austin Peay's three-game winning streak is tied with three other instances for the longest since a 10-game winning streak to begin Ohio Valley Conference play in Jan.-Feb. 2020.
• Austin Peay claimed its first road win of the season.
• Austin Peay's nine three-pointers are its fourth-most this season and its most on the road.
• Ja'Monta Black led Austin Peay in scoring for the third time this season with 22 points.
• Black's 22 points are tied for the sixth-most by a Gov this season.
• Black's six three-pointers are tied for the fourth-most by a Govs in 2023-24.
• With his three-pointer with 15:38 remaining in the first half, Black extended Austin Peay's program record of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 678.
• The Govs turned the ball over just six times against SIU, its third-lowest mark of the season.
• The Govs improved to 5-1 when posting a higher field-goal percentage than their opponent.
• The Govs improved to 3-0 in Tuesday games. 

Coach's Corner

With Austin Peay Head Basketball Coach Corey Gipson

Overall thoughts… "I thought it was a hard-fought game by both teams. I thought both teams both gave resilient efforts. It came down to the end with defending. I thought both teams did well defending when it got late, but to win close games, you have to make free throws."

On the late defensive performance… "Our guys are really communicating, being assignment correct and disciplined on defense. They are doing a great job with that and we are becoming consistent late in the shot clock. Our late shot-clock defense has been getting a lot better."

On Dezi Jones… "Dezi Jones was phenomenal today. He kind of got off to a slow start in the first half, but one thing he didn't do, he didn't stop defending. The main thing is, he is starting to be a general now, he's starting to direct traffic, he's playing on and off the ball, but most importantly, he is defending consistently throughout our games."

Follow The Govs On Social

For news and updates throughout the 2023-24 season, follow the men's basketball team on X and Instagram (@GovsMBB), on Facebook (Austin Peay Men's Basketball), or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.