CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.— It wouldn’t be a Morehead State-Austin Peay men’s basketball game without last second heroics. After having beaten the Govs four straight times, the fifth time just wasn’t the charm for the Eagles. Justin Blake hit a game winning three-pointer with 10 seconds left , and the Govs ended MSU’s 11-game winning streak, 56-55, at the Dunn Center.
Kenneth Faried led MSU with 19 points and 13 rebounds and moved over 1,000 rebounds for his career. He needed three entering the game. It was also Faried’s eighth consecutive double-double as he also provided five blocks and four steals as well. Maze Stallworth scored 12, and Demonte Harper added 11.
Wes Channels topped the Govs with 15 points, while Blake tallied 14. He was 3-for-6 from long range. The Eagles did out-rebound APSU 35-31.
“We only won the battle of the glass by four, but the biggest thing was turnovers,” said head coach Donnie Tyndall. MSU had 20 turnovers.
“The bottom line is we have to bounce back despite this loss.”
The Eagles fell behind 5-2 early on but a Maze Stallworth long range three pointer ignited an Eagle rally as they went on a 7-3 run to take their first lead, 9-7, at the 15-minute mark. The Govs went back ahead 11-9, but a Terrance Hill trey erased that quickly.
The Eagles increased their lead to 10 (27-17) with 3:52 left in the first half. Two Harper three-balls and a steal by Peterson followed by a fast break layup from Harper allowed MSU to build the margin as Harper scored eight straight points. MSU eventually led 30-18 at the half. Faried tipped in his own miss as the horn sounded.
MSU’s full court pressure defense forced 13 APSU turnovers in the opening half, and the Eagles turned that into a 15-7 advantage on points via turnovers.
In the second half, the Eagles pushed the margin out to 39-24, but an 11-0 Gov run erased the large Eagle lead. With 12:24 left, and after a Caleb Brown three-pointer, the hosts had pulled back to within 39-35. MSU was able to halt the Gov comeback bid, however, as it proceeded to pull ahead 45-35 with less than nine minutes left.
APSU outscored the Eagles 16-7 over the next eight minutes, and with less than two minutes left on the game clock, the Govs cut the game to one at 52-51. A pair of Hill free throws made it a 54-51 Eagle lead. Blake hit a runner in the lane, and then Faried made one of two free throws on the Eagle end of the floor. With MSU ahead 55-53, Blake nailed a clutch three to give his team a one-point lead with 10 seconds remaining.
Harper got a five-foot jump shot in the lane with three seconds left, and Stallworth tried to tip in the miss but the ball rimmed out and time expired.
“We ran a clear out for Demonte and we got the shot we wanted, it just didn’t go down,” said Tyndall.
MSU shot 38 percent for the game. The Govs shot 42 percent and turned it over 21 times.
The Eagles return home for an OVC contest versus Jacksonville State Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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