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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Host Austin Peay shot 52 percent from the floor and made 28 free throws to hold off the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team Thursday night in Dave Aaron Arena, 80-76. The Governors (12-10, 6-4 OVC) have now defeated the Colonels (14-8, 6-4) five straight times in Clarksville.
Junior
Justin Stommes paced EKU with 20 points, marking the seventh time this season he has reached the 20-point plateau. Sophomore
Joshua Jones added a season-high 16 points to go along with three assists and no turnovers.
Wes Channels netted 24 points to lead Austin Peay thanks to making 4-of-5 (80 percent) three-pointers. Anthony Campbell chipped in with 19 points while going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
The Colonels rattled off nine straight points early in the game, capped by a Stommes lay-in, to build a 14-5 lead. However, Austin Peay responded with a 10-0 run behind three-pointers from Channels and Caleb Brown to earn its first lead, 15-14.
The Governors finished the first half with another run, this time a 13-5 spurt, to take a 36-30 edge into the locker rooms.
Justin Blake’s trifecta six minutes into the second half put APSU ahead, 50-40.
Back-to-back three-pointers from senior
Dayvon Ellis and Jones quickly helped the Colonels close the gap to four points, 50-46. Eastern had an opportunity to inch even closer on its next possession, but could not convert an alley-oop attempt to junior
Spencer Perrin.
That would be as close as Eastern Kentucky would get the rest of the night. The Colonels went cold over the next five minutes, scoring just two points, as Austin Peay regained a nine-point cushion, 57-48.
In the final four minutes, Austin Peay made 14-of-17 (82.3 percent) free throw attempts to hold off the Colonels.
EKU is right back in action Saturday night, Jan. 30 at Tennessee State. Tip time is set for 8:30 p.m.