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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Five Austin Peay players finished in double figures as the Governors defeated the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team Tuesday night in the 2008 OVC tournament quarterfinals, 76-51. Austin Peay (22-10), the OVC regular season champion, advances to the tournament semifinals for the 11th time in the last 14 years.

Sophomore Adam Leonard was the lone EKU (14-16) player to post double figures with 17 points. Junior Mike Rose, the team’s leading scorer, was held to a season-low four points and did not score in the second half. Junior Ryan Wiersma came off the bench to haul in a team-high six boards.

Austin Peay took control of the game early thanks to a 25-2 run to open up a commanding 29-10 lead. The Govs hit five three-pointers during that stretch while the Colonels went 1-for-9 (11.1 percent) from the field.

Eastern Kentucky slowly rallied and would cut the deficit to single digits, 43-34, thanks to a Leonard jumper with 14:16 remaining. The Colonels had two shots to close the gap even more, but missed a pair of jumpers. A few minutes later, Austin Peay put the game away for good with a 16-2 spurt.

Ernest Fields came off the bench to pace APSU with 15 points and eight rebounds. Derek Wright and Kyle Duncan each finished with 13 points. The Govs shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from behind the arc on the evening and outrebounded Eastern Kentucky, 43-26.

NOTES: No. 8 seeds are now 0-12 against No. 1 seeds in the OVC tournament since the bracket expanded to eight teams in 1997 … senior Darnell Dialls did not play the final 13 minutes of the game due to an injury to his right eye … the Colonels are 0-4 in OVC tournament road games since 1997 … EKU is 1-14 in Clarksville over the last 13 years.