Clarksville, TN – Freshman Dez White scored a career-high 26 points and graduate student DeMarcus Sharp registered his third-straight double-double to lead the Austin Peay State University (APSU) basketball to a 79-52 victory against Fisk, Tuesday, on Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena.
After scoring 16 points through the first two games of his career, White tallied the most points by an APSU freshman since Jordyn Adams scored 27 at Murray State, February 29th, 2020.
In addition to White’s output in the scoring column, Sharp finished second on the team with 14 points, tied for a game-high 10 rebounds, and tallied seven assists in his 34 minutes of action, making him the first Governor to have three-straight double-doubles since APSU alum and current Chicago Bull Terry Taylor had eight-straight during the 2020-21 season.
Five of the Charleston, Missouri native’s dishes tonight – and 13 of his 16 on the season – also resulted in APSU triples, as he accounted for 33 points in the win.
White and Sharp were joined by a pair of fellow APSU Govs who scored in double figures, with Dezi Jones and Jalen Ware scoring 12 and 11, respectively. Ware’s 11 points were one off his career-high, set last season against Bucknell.
The Governors (2-1) answered an early Fisk (1-2) score with White’s first of seven three-pointers on the night. Following five-straight misses after White’s triple, Sharp answered with a driving layup to tie the game for the first of four times at five with 15:43 remaining in the first half.
Sharp’s layup began a streak of eight-straight points for the Northwestern State transfer, as he gave APSU its second lead of the night at 13-12 with 12:28 remaining in the opening half on a step-back basket.
After the under-12 media timeout, the Governor and Bulldogs traded leads, with Fisk’s final advantage of the game coming off a jumper in the paint to take a 16-15 lead. Dezi Jones answered the deficit and put the Govs back in front with a three-pointer from the far corner on a left-handed assist by Sharp along the baseline.
The APSU Govs stretched their lead to 24-19 prior to the penultimate media break of the half following a Jalen Ware authoritative put-back dunk.
Fisk missed their final nine attempts in the final nine attempts of the first half, as the Govs ended the opening frame on a 17-2 run, including a 15-0 run in the final 5:39.
White and Sharp led all scorers with 12 and 10 points, respectively, at the break, while Sharp paced the APSU Govs with six boards, all coming on the defensive end. Hansel Enmanuel was second on the team with his four rebounds, while posting a game-high three offensive rebounds in under 12 minutes of action.
Austin Peay State University extended its scoring run to 17 out the gate of the second quarter with a second-chance layup by Jones. After Fisk’s first score in over nine minutes trimmed the Govs’ lead to 18, they answered with eight-straight points courtesy of a Daniel Loos offensive-rebound putback and back-to-back triples by White.
Ja’Monta Black was the next Gov to connect from long-range, with his three-pointer with 16:07 remaining giving APSU a 52-27 lead.
Dezi Jones scored APSU’s 10th and final triple of the evening with 4:25 led to put the APSU Govs up 27, while two-straight Ware put-back dunks kept the scoring going in the Govs’ favor.
Hansel Enmanuel then did what he does best. Isolation play, moved to the right, cut left, blew past his defender, slam dunk. Roll the film. A perfect ending to a 27-point win on the home court.
The Difference
Those second-chance points. Austin Peay scored 23 second-chance points, while holding the Bulldogs to zero.
Next Up For APSU Men’s Basketball
A four-game 12-day road trip is next on deck for the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team. The extended trip tips off with an 8:00pm CT matchup against UTEP in the regional round of the 2023 SoCal Challenge, before the Govs then travel to San Juan Capistrano, California for a game against Tarleton State.
