SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Western Kentucky 77,
Austin Peay 70
San Diego 67,
Southeast Missouri 56 (Los Angeles, Calif.)
WESTERN KENTUCKY 77, AUSTIN PEAY 70
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Austin Peay State University men's basketball team hung tough with a veteran-laden Western Kentucky squad but couldn't make one final run, falling 77-70 to the Hilltoppers in the 2014-15 regular-season opener.
The Govs left E.A. Diddle Arena with a seventh straight loss to the Hilltoppers, despite putting four players in double figures. For Western Kentucky, they move to 1-0 in their first season as members of Conference USA.
Austin Peay jumped out to an early lead in a back-and-forth first half, but Western Kentucky used a 20-7 run over more than seven minutes to build a nine-point lead. Back-to-back three-pointers from freshmen Tre' Ivory and Josh Robinson stemmed the tide, and a free-throw from junior Chris Horton capped a 10-0 run that gave Austin Peay a 26-25 lead with 6:07 remaining in the half.
Fortune continued to favor the Govs when senior big man George Fant picked up his second foul and went to the bench for the remainder of the half with 4:12 remaining, but Austin Peay couldn't capitalize on the inside advantage, scoring just once from the field for the remainder of the half and trailing 42-35 heading into the locker room.
A rejuvenated Govs squad hit the court running in the second half, going on a 12-5 run to tie it up with 14:36 left. But Western Kentucky answered with a 13-4 run, with seven points coming from senior T.J. Price as part of his game-high 22 as the Hilltoppers put the deficit back at nine points.
As the second half wound on, it was a newcomer that helped keep Austin Peay's hopes alive. Robinson scored nine of his 12 points in the second half, with both his three-pointer at the 6:31 mark and another with 1:31 remaining making it a one-possession game.
Robinson's efforts were buoyed by Horton, who battled back from a 2-for-7 first half shooting performance to post a team-high 15 points and four blocked shots. Horton also held Fant – a preseason All-CUSA pick with more than 1000 points to his name already in his Western Kentucky career – to just six points and five rebounds on the evening.
Despite going 22-for-35 from the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers were able to put the game away late thanks to their free-throw shooting, hitting their last seven down the stretch to help seal the victory.
In addition to Horton and Robinson, senior Chris Freeman (13 points) and junior Zavion Williams (10 points) both reached double figures, with Williams scoring all his in the first half. Although he struggled from the floor again with a 1-for-8 performance, junior Khalil Davis found other ways to affect the game, leading the Govs with four assists and six rebounds while going 7-for-11 from the free-throw line.
SAN DIEGO 67, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 56
LOS ANGELES - Southeast Missouri (0-2) had 19 turnovers and shot seven percent from three-point range in a 67-56 loss to San Diego (1-1) Saturday in the final day of the LMU Classic.
Southeast made just 1-of-14 from behind the arc with Isiah Jones accounting for the team's only trey. The 19 turnovers came a day after the Redhawks turned the ball over only three times against Loyola Marymount.
Southeast shot 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from the field and struggled to a 0-of-8 mark from three-point land in the first half.
San Diego capitalized on the Redhawks shooting spell and built a double-digit lead. Johnny Dee's three-pointer ended a 7-0 run to give the Toreros a 26-15 advantage with 6:32 remaining. Southeast countered with a 13-2 run to tie the game.
J.J. Thompson, Jamaal Calvin, Darrian Gray and Nino Johnson each scored on layups, while Aaron Adeoye and Jones added free throws. Jones buried three free throws to bring the game to a 28-28 deadlock before Dee knocked down a three on the final possession to give San Diego a 31-28 edge at the break.
Southeast shot much better in the second half, making 12-of-22 field goals for 54.5 percent.
The Redhawks pulled to within a point twice when Thompson made a layup (31-30) with 19:37 remaining and Jones nailed his three-pointer (49-48) with 8:08 left. That, however, was as close as Southeast would get. Dee made a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to grab a seven-point cushion for San Diego. Chris Anderson later added a conventional three-point play to push the Toreros lead to 63-52 at the 3:41 mark. After that, San Diego's lead dipped below double figures once when Antonius Cleveland's layup narrowed the gap to 65-56 with 1:30 on the clock.
Adeoye led all Southeast scorers with a double-double 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jones and Cleveland followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Dee had a game-high 22 points to lead San Diego. All but one of his field goals came from three-point range. Dee shot 6-of-12 from three, as the Toreros finished with eight treys in the contest. Anderson added a double-double 11 points and 11 assists for San Diego.
Additionally, the Toreros scored 16 points off Southeast's 19 turnovers. The Redhawks had 11 miscues in the second half alone.