Govs edge Tenn. State in overtime
TSU gives Peay a scare after a 45-point loss Feb. 3
By JAMES D. HORNE
The Leaf-Chronicle
Tennessee State just wouldn't go away.
The Tigers pestered, plagued and hounded Austin Peay for two halves and an overtime period.
And we're talking using every minute of every second and virtually every play to do it.
But in the end, and through much tribulation, the Govs were finally able to walk out of the Dunn Center with an 89-84 victory over Tennessee State in a first round Ohio Valley Conference Tournament game.
"That's certainly not the team we played earlier," Austin Peay coach Dave Loos said. "They (TSU) really played a good basketball game. I have to tip my hat off to them. We'd score and they'd answer it every time. We just couldn't get a stop to separate ourselves. It was just a good game."
Top-seeded Austin Peay (20-10) moves onto play No. 5 Samford, who knocked off No. 4 Murray State 70-60 in Murray, in the OVC Tournament semifinals at the Gaylord Entertainment Center at 5:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Drake Reed led all scorers with a game-high 27 points. Todd Babington added 22 and Fernandez Lockett chipped in 18 points.
Tennessee State was led by Reiley Ervin's 24 points, 15 from Andrea Belton and 14 from Ladarious Weaver.
Lockett hit a jumper with 31.9 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime.
Landon Shipley (10 points) with 2.7 seconds left and Babington with 1.9 to go — and after a TSU turnover — drained the Govs' free throws to seal the win.
"It (the jumper that went in) was big. They had us on the ropes," Lockett said of his shot. "Ship (who was throwing in the ball) almost got a five-second call so I just flashed into the open area and knocked down a big shot."
Tennessee State (12-20) finally hiccupped with 2.7 seconds left in the overtime period when Courtney Bohannon threw a pass out of bounds with the Govs owning an 87-84 lead.
The Tigers were forced to foul and Babington went to the line and connected on the two free throws that made it the final.
But the Govs almost head a heart attack themselves when Moraye Ivy launched a jumper with 3.8 seconds left.
The officials initially called it a 3-pointer, which would have tied the game at 85, but they changed it to just a 2-pointer and kept the Tigers down 85-84.
"I couldn't see it," TSU coach Cy Alexander said. "Steve Pratt said his foot was on the line so obviously his foot was on the line. I can't say if it was or wasn't, I did not see. I wasn't looking at his foot. I saw the ball go in and one official throw his hands in the air, and just thought it was a 3. But they came back and said it wasn't."
Shipley then hit his two free throws to make it 87-84.
Bohannon then turned the ball over and Babington sank the free throws.
The call was a blessing in disguise for the Govs.
"I saw his foot on the line, I was just hoping and praying the refs said it was a 2 and it worked," Lockett said.
But it's hard to stop a team like TSU that hits 41.9 percent (13-of-31) of its 3-pointers, including going 7-of-14 in the second half. The Tigers also 46.3 percent (31-of-67) of its shots overall, including making 17-of-29 (58.6 percent) in the second half and 4-of-10 in the overtime session, and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
Austin Peay went 22-of-55 (45.5 percent) from the floor, 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from downtown and 33-of-43 from the free throw line (76.7 percent).
It's hard the believe Austin Peay actually led by 15 points, 32-17, in the first half and 35-27 at halftime.
TSU finally tied the game at 52-all on a Weaver 3 with 8:04 to play and stayed with in one point five times until Clarence Matthews (13 points) scored on a three-point play and tied it at 65-all with 2:38 left.
Reed put Austin Peay back up 67-65 with two free throws with 2:18 to play.
But the Tigers tied it on an Ervin drive and took a 69-67 lead on Belton's jumper with 57.4 seconds left.
That's when Lockett sank his jumper with 31.9 seconds to go to tie it at 69-all.
"I was really worried and Dez made a big shot," Loos said. "That was a big-time shot."
James D. Horne covers Austin Peay sports for The Leaf-Chronicle and can be reached by phone at 931-245-0221 or by e-mail at jameshorne@theleafchronicle.com.
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