DELAND, Fla. – With just eight players available, the Austin Peay State University men's basketball team battled for 40 minutes but was unable to hold off a hot-shooting Stetson team and fell, 76-51, in ASUN Conference play, Wednesday, at the J. Ollie Edmunds Center.

Shon Robinson led Austin Peay (9-21, 3-14 ASUN) in scoring for the second-straight game with 12 points, he also led the Govs with four rebounds and four assists. Guy Fauntleroy – who went the distance, playing all 40 minutes – scored 11 points and grabbed five steals for the second-straight game, while Jalen Ware rounded out the double-figures scorers with 10 points.

Sophomore Jacob Roberts – who played a career-high 21:14 – also led the Govs on the glass for the first time in his career with a career-high four rebounds.

Luke Brown led Stetson (17-11, 12-5 ASUN) with 15 points while the duo of Josh Smith and Sam Peek added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Wheza Panzo rounded out the Hatters in double-figures, scoring 11 points in the contest.

After a Ware three-pointer and back-to-back Elijah Hutchins-Everett buckets, Fauntleroy gave the Governors a three-point lead, 10-7, when he buried a three-pointer at the 15:14 mark in the opening period. With 13:28 left in the first half, the Govs pushed the lead back to three points, 12-9, when Robinson converted a pair of free throws, but Stetson responded with a 10-2 run and built a lead which they would not surrender for the rest of the contest.

The Hatters pushed the lead to 16 points, 32-16, after a Panzo three with 4:19 left in the period before back-to-back second-chance buckets from Ware brought the Governors back within a dozen points, 32-20 with 1:04 left to play. However, Stetson scored four-straight points to close the frame and led 36-20 at the intermission.

Austin Peay opened the second half on an 8-0 run that was highlighted by five points from Robinson and a three-pointer for Ware to bring the deficit to eight points, 36-28, with 17:44 left in the contest. After a Kelechi Okworogwo triple and slam dunk on back-to-back possessions, the Govs trailed 49-36 with 11:53 left to play, but the Hatters answered with a 17-5 run and built a 25-point lead, 66-41, with 5:04 remaining on the clock.

Stetson built their biggest lead of the game at 31 points with 1:15 remaining, but Fauntleroy and Roberts connected from three-point range on the last two possessions of the game to bring the Governors back within 25 points, 76-51, when the final buzzer sounded.

The Difference

Stetson shot 49.0 percent (25-51) from the floor. The Hatters also went 16-for-17 from the free-throw line while the Govs went just 5-for-10 at the charity stripe.

Notably

• Shon Robinson led the Governors in scoring for the second-straight game and fourth time this season with 12 points – it was his ninth time scoring in double-figures.
• Guy Fauntleroy scored in double-figures for the third-straight contest and the seventh time this season with 11 points.
• Jalen Ware scored 10 points; it was the fifth time this season he has scored in double-figures.
• Robinson led the Govs in rebounding for the second time this season and in assists for the fourth time this season with four boards and four assists.
• Jacob Roberts grabbed a career-high four rebounds and led the Governors on the glass for the first time in his career.
• Fauntleroy matched his career-high with five steals for the second-consecutive game, it is the third time this season he has recorded a five-steal game.
• Rodrique Massenat recorded a career-high two blocked shots.

Up Next

Austin Peay wraps up the 2022-23 season when it plays a 6 p.m. (CT), Friday, rematch with Florida Gulf Coast at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.