Conway, AR – Trailing 53-63 with 9:19 remaining in the second half, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) basketball team used a seven-minute, 16-0 run to earn a 73-71 Atlantic Sun Conference victory against Central Arkansas, Thursday, at the Farris Center.
Four Governors scored in double-figures in the win, led by Isaac Haney’s game-high 18 points, his highest point total in ASUN play thus far this season. Sai Witt followed Haney in scoring with 17 points – with 11 points coming in the second half – while Anton Brookshire followed the pair with 15, marking his fourth double-figure scoring performance in his last five games.
After trailing 14-5 in the opening six minutes, Haney scored seven-straight points to bring the Govs back within two just 120 seconds later. After Haney’s run, Central Arkansas went on to re-extend its advantage back to seven points on three different instances, with the final putting the hometown Bears up 28-21 with 6:43 remaining in the opening half.
A layup by Witt sparked an 18-6 run for APSU to end the half, as a Quan Lax layup gave APSU its first lead since a Tate McCubbin three-pointer on APSU’s second offensive possession of the game. An LJ Thomas driving layup was answered by a layup from UCA’s Michael Evbaharu, but Brookshire and Haney both connected on three-pointers in the final two minutes of the period to give the Govs a 41-34 lead heading into the half.
Haney led all scorers with an efficient 15 points at the break, connecting on six of his seven attempts from the field to pace a Govs’ offense that shot 48.5% from the field (16-of-33) and 50% from three-point range (6-of-12) with just a pair of turnovers.
On the other end of the court, APSU forced eight UCA first-half turnovers which translated into nine points.
Central Arkansas quickly erased its halftime deficit, coming out of the locker room and outscoring the Govs 18-4 in the first 6:12 of the second half. After extending its lead to as many as 10 points with under 10-mintues remaining, Brookshire’s fourth triple of the evening sparked APSU’s 16-0 run, as it built a 69-63 advantage with 3:34 remaining in regulation.
A UCA triple, followed by a turnover and driving layup cut the Bears’ deficit to just a point with 1:12 to play, but both McCubbin and Tekao Carpenter went a perfect, 2-for-2 from the line in the final minute to secure the victory. A last-second three-pointer by UCA’s Brayden Fagbemi rattled in at the buzzer, but was able to cut APSU’s lead to just two as both sides exchanged handshakes at midcourt.
The Difference
Austin Peay State University’s 16-0 run in the second half was its second-longest scoring run of the season, and just point off a 17-0 run against Brescia, December 29th, in the nonconference finale. During the run against the Bears, APSU went 7-of-16 from the field with a trio of three-pointers and held UCA to eight-straight misses.
Box Score Bullets
Austin Peay State University improved to 4-1 all-time against Central Arkansas and 2-1 against the Bears in Conway, Arkansas.
APSU improved to 8-12 on the season and 3-4 in ASUN Conference play.
Corey Gipson improved to 4-0 all-time against Central Arkansas in his head coaching career, and 3-0 against the Bears while at the helm of Governors basketball.
Isaac Haney led the Govs in scoring for the fourth time this season.
Isaac Haney’s 18 points are his most in ASUN play this season and his most this season since scoring 20 against Morehead State on November 20th.
Sai Witt’s 17 points are his most scoring, scoring 23 in APSU’s ASUN opener at North Florida, January 2nd, while his nine rebounds are his most since tallying 10 boards against Southern Illinois on December 14th.
Anton Brookshire scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and fifth time in league action.
With his six assists and one turnover, Anton Brookshire has registered 12 assists on two turnovers in his last two outings and 20 assists on six turnovers over his last three games.
Tate McCubbin scored in double figures for the third-straight game and eighth time in his last 10 outings.
Hansel Enmanuel led the Govs with two blocks, improving his season total to 10 rejections. Enmanuel has seven blocks in his last three games.
Austin Peay State University improved to 3-1 on Thursday this season.
The APSU Govs turned the ball over just six times, its eighth contest this season with less than 10 giveaways.
The starting lineup of Tate McCubbin, Tekao Carpenter, LJ Thomas, Anton Brookshire, and Quan Lax improved to 2-3 on the season. The five starts with that group are the most of any of APSU’s 14 different starting lineups utilized this season.
Follow the APSU Govs
For news and updates on all things Governors’ basketball, follow the men’s basketball team on X and Instagram (@GovsMBB) and Facebook (Austin Peay Men’s Basketball) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
Next Up APSU Men’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team closes its three-game road trip with a Saturday 6:00pm contest against North Alabama in Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama.
