JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Down a trio of starters, Austin Peay State University's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth battle with UT Arlington, 68-58, in a game that had 12 lead changes, Wednesday, at the Florida State College at Jacksonville Gymnasium.

LJ Thomas, Anton Brookshire, and Quan Lax all reached double figures in Austin Peay's (4-3) 2024 Jacksonville Classic finale. Thomas had 14 points to lead APSU in points for the third-straight game, while Brookshire and Lax had their season's best scoring performance with 13 and 10 points, respectively. 

The Governors and UT Arlington (3-4) exchanged the first three baskets of the game, with Brookshire's first of three three-pointers giving Austin Peay a 5-4 lead 2:54 into the opening period and resulting in the game's first of 12 lead changes. 

Thomas' second basket of the game extended the Govs' advantage to 14-11 following the under-16 media timeout, but it was answered by an 11-4 UTA run, as the Mavericks forced three-consecutive APSU misses from the field. After losing its lead, Austin Peay responded with a seven-minute, 14-0 run after forcing five turnovers and as many missed shots during that span.

UTA scored the first half's final eight points to trim the Govs' advantage to 32-30 at the half.

Thomas opened the second half with his second three-pointer of the game, but the score was answered by five-straight UTA points to tie the game at 35 with 16:14 remaining in regulation. The Govs built their lead to seven following an 8-0 run following six Tate McCubbin points, but a 15-2 run gave UTA its then-largest lead of the game at 54-47 with just over five minutes to play.

The Govs trimmed the deficit to as few as six points with 47 seconds remaining, but the Mavericks made each of their final eight attempts at the line to secure the win.

The Difference 

Foul discrepancy and free throws. Austin Peay had 21 fouls called against it while UTA had 12. The Mavericks went 23-of-27 from the line, while APSU went 5-of-8.

Up Next

Austin Peay returns to its home state, but remains on the road, as it takes on East Tennessee in a 3 p.m. (CT), Saturday game in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Box Score Bullets

• Austin Peay fell to 0-1 all-time against UT Arlington.
• Austin Peay fell to 0-4 all-time against current Western Athletic Conference teams. 
• The Governors dropped to 74-100 all-time in in-season tournaments.
• Down a trio of starters in Sai Witt, Isaac Haney, and Hansel Enmanuel, a season-low eight players registered at least one minute played in the decision.
• Austin Peay is 2-2 coming off a win this season and 0-1 on zero day's rest.
• The Governors dropped their first game of the season when leading at the half. It is the first time APSU has lost a game that it led through the opening 20 minutes since the ASUN Championship game against Stetson (3/10/24).
• Tate McCubbin scored eight points and grabbed two rebounds in his first-career start. 
• Austin Peay's starting lineup of Tate McCubbin, JaVar Daniel, LJ Thomas, Anton Brookshire, and Quan Lax was its fifth unique starting lineup this season and its fourth different lineup in as many games.
• LJ Thomas led Austin Peay in scoring for the third-straight game and the fifth time in the last six games. 
• With his 14 points, Thomas now has six of APSU's top 11 scoring performances this season.
• Anton Brookshire and Quan Lax led APSU with five assists.
• Anton Brookshire scored a season-high 13 points.
• Quan Lax scored a season-high 10 points.

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