Clarksville, TN – Another chapter in the books. This was one of the best, from an Austin Peay State University (APSU) perspective.
Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit to knock off Murray State in a 74-70 affair, Monday, December 21st, 2020.
The Govs bounced back from an earlier loss to the Racers by shaking off whatever early-season malaise might have plagued the Govs in Murray and head into the holidays with a statement win.
Two players kept the APSU Govs in the game in the first half—Tai’Reon Joseph and Terry Taylor.
Joseph spread his contributions out during the opening 20 minutes, nailing a three for Austin Peay State University’s first points, answering a KJ Williams three-point play with his second triple and then stopping a run to cut the deficit back to single digits with 5:30 to play in the half.
Taylor made sure the half ended on a high note for the Govs. After being held in check insofar as opponents are able to hold the reigning OVC Player of the Year in check, Taylor nailed threes on back-to-back possessions, his second well into NBA range, which helped Austin Peay State University cut it to a 39-33 deficit at halftime.
In the second half, Taylor took over and proved why he will go down as one of the best to ever put on an Austin Peay State University uniform.
At the 12:21 mark in the second half, the Racers led by 10 after a Daquan Smith layup. Not quite four minutes later, a DJ Peavy three-pointer had drawn the Govs within a point to end an 11-2 Austin Peay State University run that leaned heavily on Taylor (six points) and Peavy (five). At the 7:01 mark, a Taylor floater put the Govs up for good; they just didn’t know it yet.
They didn’t know that Taylor would score 10 of Austin Peay State University’s final 15 points, that Murray State would hit just two shots from the floor and commit three turnovers in the final five minutes and change of the game. All anyone knew, in real time, was that Austin Peay State University’s plan of throwing the ball to Terry Taylor and letting him make magic could not be stopped.
The Govs scored 41 points in the second half, with 22 coming from the left hand of Taylor, in a variety of ways. Spin moves in the lane. Floaters over the outstretched hands of opposing defenders. The full combo move of Taylor moves were on display; if he retains his status as OVC Player of the Year, this will be one of the signature games people remember.
Taylor wasn’t playing on an empty court in the second half; the Racers more than held their own, hitting 56.5 from the floor as a team paced by 11 points from Tevin Brown. But sometimes a player reaches a rarefied air—for a half or a game or a season—that transcends what the opposition does. Murray State played a second half that would have won them a lot of ballgames, but not against Terry Taylor and the APSU Govs on Monday.
The Difference
Austin Peay State University controlled the glass. Owned it, really. The Govs outrebounded the Racers 31-23, including a 15-4 discrepancy on the offensive glass. That led to Austin Peay State University outscoring the Racers 11-0 in second-chance points.
APSU Notably
The APSU Govs have a winning record after eight games for the first time since 2008.
The win is Austin Peay State University’s first this season when trailing at the half.
Austin Peay State University picked up its first pre-Christmas OVC victory since 2010.
The win is Austin Peay State University’s first this season when surrendering 70 points or more.
Joseph is averaging 11.8 points over the last four games, knocking down 2.8 threes per night.
Peavy reached double figures for the first time as an APSU Gov, finishing with 11 points.
In the history of the Austin Peay-Murray State rivalry, this marks the first time one team defeated the other by 30 or more points in one meeting only to turn around and lose the next time the two teams got together.
Milestone Watch—Career: With his first bucket, Terry Taylor became the second player in program history with 800 career made field goals. He also passed Colby Pierce (2000-04) for seventh on the career starts list, and overtook Nick Stapleton (see next note) for second all-time in scoring.
Milestone Watch—OVC: Taylor passed Herbie Stamper (Morehead State, 1975-79), Nick Stapleton (Austin Peay, 1998-02) and Ralph Crosthwaite (Eastern Kentucky, 1954-55, 56-59) for 11th in OVC history in scoring at 2,091 points. He also passed Tommy Woods (ETSU, 1965-67) for 14th all-time in rebounding.
Coaching Quotables with APSU head coach Matt Figger
On the win
“Any time you can beat a team of the quality of Murray, when everybody spent the past 15 days doubting you… we had to search and find ourselves. We ain’t dead yet, and for everybody on Twitter who says we are, we ain’t dead yet.”
On the early part of the game
“We didn’t do a good job early on, which has been the MO of our team. But at a certain point, we started running a good offense, moving the ball side-to-side. We were able to get their front court in foul trouble, we were more aggressive on the glass. I felt like I put my guys out of harm’s way defensively. Murray shot the cover off it, and the difference between this time and last time is that our guys stood their ground. I’m really proud of them.”
On the guard play
“When kids get in the gym and work, success is going to find them. These guys put in the time. Chino and DJ Peavy, they’re in this gym all the time. My guys deserved victory tonight. I am so proud of them.”
Box Score
Murray State 70, Murray State 74
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 31 | 70 | |
| 33 | 41 | 74 |
Up Next for APSU Govs
First, the holidays. Then it’s back to the grind with a daunting OVC schedule on deck for the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team, first with a December 30th visit to the Gentry Center to take on Tennessee State in a 4:00pm contest.
