Fairfax, VA – DeMarcus Sharp had a game-high 23 points, 13 rebounds, four steals, and two blocks; however, Austin Peay State University’s basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start and fell in a 67-45 defeat to George Mason, Friday, at EagleBank Arena.
Sharp accounted for 28 of the Govs’ 45 points in the game, including 21-of-30 in the second half alone. He went 6-for-13 from the field and converted all seven of his attempts from the charity stripe over the final 20 minutes to lead the Govs’ late comeback bid.
After making its first two attempts from the field courtesy of a pair of Sharp mid-range baskets the APSU Govs missed 13 of their next 14 shots from the field, while George Mason (2-0) went 9-of-17 to extend its lead to 24-7 before a Jalen Ware dunk ended a five-minute APSU scoring drought with 9:03 remaining in the opening half.
After five-straight Patriots’ misses, they made two of their final three attempts from the field – both coming from long-range – which featured a buzzer-beater as time expired in the opening frame to put GMU up 42-12.
George Mason held the Govs to 20.0 percept (6-30) from the field, and kept all APSU scorers below seven points, as the Govs’ highest scorer was Ja’Monta Black with six on a pair of triples.
GMU held the momentum out the gate of the second half with a 9-0 run until a Sharp step-back jumper ended a 4:55 scoring drought and cut APSU’s deficit to 51-17 3:41 into the second half.
Despite the late scoring run, the APSU Govs were unable to complete the comeback and suffered its first loss of the early season following the 67-45 result.
The Difference
The first half. George Mason owned the opening 20 minutes, converting 13 of its 30 attempts from the field while holding the APSU Govs to six baskets on as many attempts. The Patriots scored 14 of their 42 first-half points between the lanes and made 10 of their 15 free throws, while APSU split its two attempts.
Inside the Box Score
Austin Peay State University fell to 0-3 all-time against George Mason and 0-2 against the Patriots in Fairfax, Virginia.
DeMarcus Sharp led Austin Peay State University with 23 points, the second 20-point performance by the Govs through two games.
Sharp also tied for a game-high two assists against the Patriots. His first assist came on a Ja’Monta Black triple with 1:41 remaining in the first half. Eight of Sharp’s nine assists this season have resulted in APSU three-pointers.
Sharp’s 13 rebounds are a career-high for the sixth-year guard, surpassing a 12-rebound outing against McNeese on January 12th, 2023, while he was at Northwestern State. His 13 rebounds are the most by an APSU Gov since Elijah Hutchins-Everett had 14 at Dayton on November 20th, 2021.
Sharp recorded his second-straight double-double in as many appearances for the red and white. He is the first Gov with a double-double in back-to-back games since Sean Durugordon, January 7th-12th, against Central Arkansas and Lipscomb last season.
Sharp picked up his fourth foul with 7:11 remaining in the second half. He did not sub out following the foul and proceeded to score 10 points, record two steals, and grab one rebound in that time.
Ja’Monta Black scored Austin Peay State University’s first of three three-pointers 5:31 into the contest, which extended APSU’s program-record of games with a triple to 669.
Hansel Enmanuel became the seventh Gov to find the scoring column with a breakaway dunk with 1:20 remaining. He finished with a team-best +6 plus-minus and hauled in the second-most rebounds of his career with four.
A Clarksville native, Daniel Loos made his first career start for his hometown team, playing 10 minutes.
APSU Coach’s Corner
With head men’s basketball coach Corey Gipson
To open.… “I don’t get down after games like this. My momma died when I was nine. Ain’t nothing happened worse to me than that. People who get down on themselves aint been through something like that yet, that’s why they cry like babies. When they go through it, and get it out of their system, and something happens, they’ll never be down in the dirt again.”
Overall thoughts… “The first half was on me. We actually did not learn from the Life game [on Monday]. When we went into the Life game, we played a matchup zone and they were able to execute and score against us. We should not have gone into this game playing a matchup zone, we should have played out man-to-man defense, and that’s what we did in the second half and we had an outstanding second half playing that man-to-man defense. We had to make sure we recognized who the ball needed to go through and that was DeMarcus Sharp. DeMarcus Sharp owned the entire game, he led the game in rebounding, scoring, steals, and assists. We have to make sure to start games, that we recognize who the ball needs to go through. If people stay in one-on-one coverage, he has to go ahead and cook. If they decide to double and triple him, that’s when others start eating.”
On the impact of DeMarcus Sharp… “[In addition to leading the game in nearly every category] he was also the best defender out there. That’s what you call an NBA player. We got to a point in this game to where we realized the ball needed to go through him. We had to grind it out on offense and make the other team defend us. Then we went back and defended the other team. We have to be more patient on offense to not take quick and early shots.”
On the biggest thing this team needs to improve on… “It’s what we improved on in the second half. We executed offensively and we really defended and went through the right person. Sometimes as coaches, we say we have to go back and look at the film. That’s a cop-out. We saw it in real-time what we needed to do and we made an adjustment in the second half. But this is the happiest I’ve been since I’ve been at Austin Peay. We learned a lot of from the first half and executed it in the second half and we’ll carry that over.”
Follow The APSU Govs
For news and updates throughout the Governors inaugural season in F&M Bank Arena, follow the APSU men’s basketball team on X and Instagram (@GovsMBB), on Facebook (Austin Peay Men’s Basketball), or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
Next Up For APSU Men’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team briefly returns home where it plays host to Fisk in a Tuesday 7:00pm game on Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena.
Following its midweek contest against the Bulldogs, APSU begin a four-game road trip that takes it to Texas, California and North Carolina. The first game of the extended road trip will be in a November 17th, 8:00pm CT game, against UTEP in the regional matchup of the 2023 SoCal Challenge before the program heads to California for its first of two games in the state against Tarleton State, November 20th.
