RICHMOND, Ky. – Sai Witt led Austin Peay State University's basketball team with 29 points, but the Governors dropped an 88-82 decision to Atlantic Sun Conference rival Eastern Kentucky in a game that featured 18 lead changes, Saturday at Baptist Health Arena.

In addition to his season-high 29 points, Witt also matched his career's best mark with 12 field goals on 22 attempts. LJ Thomas followed him in the scoring column with 19 points, while also pacing the team with nine rebounds. 

After a game-opening dunk by Eastern Kentucky (12-11, 6-4 ASUN), Tekao Carpenter sparked the game's first lead change with a three-pointer. The Colonels led 19-10 through the opening five and a half minutes after a pair of free throws and opening the game 7-for-9 from the field.

After Anton Brookshire's first of four three-pointers on the night, APSU (9-14, 4-6 ASUN) and EKU exchanged the next 14 field goals before the Colonels' George Kimble III hit a three-pointer and proceeded to make a jumper in the paint following a missed triple by the Govs on the other end of the court.

Trailing 43-35 with 3:17 remaining in the half, Witt scored six of the game's next eight points before Brookshire ended the half with a three-pointer to cut the Govs' deficit to 45-44 at the break.

There were seven lead changes in the opening six minutes of the second period, with the final of that stint coming off a Kimble III jumper to make it 57-53 EKU.

The Govs held EKU scoreless for over three minutes, and used eight-straight Witt points to retake the lead at 68-67 with 7:52 to play. Following a pair of baskets by Thomas, the Colonels scored six-straight points to regain a five-point lead, but Isaac Haney and Anton Brookshire connected on back-to-back three-pointers to switch the advantage back in favor of the Govs with under three minutes to play.

A basket by Witt tied the game at 82 with 90 seconds to play, but a Colonels' dunk followed by four-straight free throws resulted in the six-point decision.

Up Next

Austin Peay's longest regular-season homestand since the 2022-23 season is up next. The Govs open the game with a 7 p.m., Wednesday game against North Alabama before facing Central Arkansas at 4 p.m., Saturday, in F&M Bank Arena.

The Difference

The Colonels scored the game's final six points and held the Govs to four-straight misses in the final 1:39 of the second half, out-rebounding APSU 4-1 in that span.

Box Score Bullets

• Despite the loss, Austin Peay still leads the all-time series against EKU, 66-57.
• Austin Peay's 49.2 field-goal percentage is its second-best of the season, trailing only a 51.9% mark in the ASUN opener at North Florida. 
• Sai Witt's 29 points are a season-high mark and just one point from tying his career-high of 30 set last season against North Florida (2/3/24).
• Witt's 29 points are tied for the second-most by a Gov this season.
• LJ Thomas' 19 points are his most since scoring 23 against UNF this season.
• Thomas' nine rebounds are tied for the second-most of his career, and just one off his 10-rebound effort against Brescia in the nonconference finale (12/29/24).
• Austin Peay made eight three-pointers, its eighth-straight game accomplishing the feat.
• With Tekao Carpenter's three-pointer 54 seconds into the game, he extended APSU's streak of consecutive games with a triple to 724, a streak that began Feb. 23, 2002. 

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