COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – LJ Thomas scored 26 and Isaac Haney scored 20 in Austin Peay State University basketball's 90-80 charity exhibition win against Tech, Tuesday, at the Eblen Center. Proceeds from Tuesday's game benefitted the Cookeville Regional Medical Center Foundation.
Thomas shot 10-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range to lead the game in scoring, while Haney led APSU with four three-pointers and tied with Sai Witt for a game-high five assists. Witt followed the backcourt duo in scoring with 15 points, while adding seven rebounds and his five dimes.
Haney scored Austin Peay's opening buckets, with the first coming on the Govs' first of 15 three-pointers on the night. Following a steal and transition dunk by LJ Thomas, the Governors and Golden Eagles exchanged the next five baskets to tie the game at 12 with 16:08 remaining in the first half.
Tennessee Tech answered a pair of free throws by Thomas with a four-point swing to lead 16-14, but the Govs responded with a 19-3 run over the next four minutes.
Haney and Sai Witt began the scoring streak with three-pointers – the triple for Witt marking his as a Gov – while Thomas then responded with a mid-range jumper and triple of his own.
Hansel Enmanuel scored the Govs' final basket of the four-minute stretch with a left-wing three-pointer – also his first as a Gov – as Austin Peay led 33-19 with 8:36 remaining in the opening 20 minutes.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Quan Lax and LJ Thomas extended the Govs' lead to 47-30 prior to the under-four media timeout as APSU ended the period on a 13-2 run to lead 54-32.
Thomas (16 points), Haney (12), and Witt (10) led the game in scoring at the break, while the Govs' 22-point lead through the opening 20 minutes was aided largely by nine makes on 12 attempts.
After a Haney three-pointer and Thomas layup to open the second half, Tennessee Tech used a four-minute, 15-0 run to trim the Governors' advantage to 59-49 five minutes into the period. Anton Brookshire and Haney then ended the Golden Eagles' scoring stretch with a triple and layup, respectively.
Brookshire hit his second three of the half to put the Govs up 13 10 minutes into the half, as Austin Peay maintained a double-digit lead until the final 19 seconds of regulation.
Terrell Gaines scored the day's final points, going 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, resulting in the 90-80 victory over Tennessee Tech.
Inside the Box Score
- Austin Peay won its 16th-straight exhibition game and improved to 2-0 in exhibitions under head coach Corey Gipson.
- Had stats counted, the Governors' 15 made three-pointers would have been tied for the third-most in a single game in program history.
- LJ Thomas led the Govs with 26 points, which is the most by a Governor since Sai Witt scored 28 in the ASUN Men's Basketball Championship game against Stetson.
- Sai Witt's five assists are the second-most of his career and his most since tallying six at Nebraska Kearney (2/20/21) while at Lincoln Missouri.
- Twelve Governors appeared in the game, with 11 playing at least four minutes.
- Terrell Gaines made his collegiate debut and scored two points in 2:45 of action.
- LJ Thomas, Quan Lax, Darius Dawson, Tekao Carpenter, Anton Brookshire, Bowen Hammer, and Terrell Gaines all made their APSU debuts in the game.
- Isaac Haney's four three-pointers matched his career high, which he set at North Alabama (2/17/24) last season.
- Austin Peay turned the ball over just nine times in the win. Last season, the Govs turned the ball over nine-or-fewer times 21 times.
- The Governors scored 24 points off 15 TTU turnovers, which is their most since scoring 28 points off turnovers against Midway (12/5/23) last season.
- Austin Peay's 23 bench points are its most since having 37 against North Florida in the ASUN Championship Quarterfinals (3/5/24).
Coach's Corner
With head coach Corey Gipson
Overall Takeaways… "Our guys did a really good job of attacking in transition and getting defensive stops. Another thing they did a great job in was clicking the ball and sharing the ball. When you are putting a team together, you want a team in early going that is willing to share the ball. That shows me that our servanthood is in tact. The fact that they are willing to share the ball is what got us going early. As the ball clicked, we got better offensively."
On playing in this charity exhibition… "Anytime we can serve the community and anytime we can serve and help others we will. There are plenty of people in this country that are struggling. The fact that we can have a charity game and team up with Tennessee Tech to help others in need or in medical or facing financial constraint and adversity. I felt like players on both sides got the outcome which was to bless other in need."
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