APSU Men’s Basketball (22-10) is heading back to the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. Behind a 28-point performance by Terry Taylor and a 27-point outing by Chris Porter-Bunton capped off a 95-81 win over Morehead State.
Porter-Bunton was the main scorer for the Govs hitting 10 field goals and four 3-pointers. The redshirt senior’s performance earned him a spot in APSU’s 1000-Point Club.
“It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve got that monkey off of my back,” Porter-Bunton said. “That is something personal, but we still have a team goal and that is to keep winning.”
The Govs stayed on their offensive foot for the entirety of the night, knocking down 28 field goals and finishing 43 percent from the field.
However, the Eagles had a strong night from the floor going 27-for-58 and actually holding a higher conversation percentage at 46 percent.
The difference in the night came in two categories, the big one being the big men.
Jabari McGhee and Taylor both tallied double-doubles, with McGhee finishing with a game-high of 16 rebounds.
Behind 16 boards from the grad transfer and 10 from Taylor, the Govs’ glass crew out-physicaled Morehead State with 46 boards to the Eagles 26.
“Jabari redeemed himself because he was not very good last time we played Morehead,” Head Coach Matt Figger said. “Like a senior, he bounced back. He came off the bench with a fire.”
That translated into six Eagle offensive rebounds compared to the Govs’ 17. Branching from that, Head Coach Matt Figger’s team outscored Morehead State on second-chance points 16-7.
The other major difference came in the form of APSU’s three-ball early on. The Govs knocked down 21 points from distance in the opening 20 minutes. Couple that with the Eagles’ two made 3-pointers, on 14 attempts and APSU took a 49-29 lead into the break.
“We were playing to our identity. We were playing to the identity I foresee for Austin Peay basketball.” Figger said. “We were taking them out of everything they were wanting to do.”
The Govs were slow out of the half, but their halftime cushion and squad depth pushed the Govs on and into a semifinal appearance. APSU piled on 17 bench points while Morehead State could only muster two points outside of their starting five.
In Figger’s second season over the program, the Govs will take on Belmont in the OVC semifinals for the second season in a row. Tip is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and for live updates follow @theallstate on Twitter.
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