La’Nya Foster scores in the third quarter against Bellarmine Thursday night at F&M Bank Arena. Foster put up 15 points to contribute to the 65-63 win against the Knights. Photo: Jennifer Lindahl| The All State

It was a double victory in the ASUN Conference opener for the Austin Peay State University women’s and men’s basketball team both against Bellarmine on Thursday night. The women’s team defeated the Knights on the Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena 65-63 and the men’s traveled to Freedom Hall to defeat the Knights 84-68.

At home in Clarksville, there were some growing pains for the night as the Govs were without their point guard, Sandra Lin. There was a lot of opportunity for Bellarmine to take home the victory, but the Govs pulled the win with a lot of fight and heart. Holding the Knights scoreless for the last five minutes was crucial in Thursday’s win. While the win was not the prettiest the Govs have had, Head Coach Brittany Young says the best is yet to come.

“This is our third year at Austin Peay, we’re going to be competitive, we’re going to go hard and we have more in us,” said head coach Brittany Young. “We have more in us as the conference season progresses. As the fans continue to follow us and support us, they’re going to see our best basketball.”

On the road in Lexington, the men’s team had their first win in an ASUN opener in program history. This is their first opener win since 2020 when APSU defeated Southeast Missouri in the Ohio Valley Conference opener. 

Four of the men’s basketball team had points in the double digits. Dezi Jones led the pack with 21 points, followed by Ja’Monta Black with 14, and DeMarcus Sharp and Isaac Haney both with 13 points. 

Both men’s and women’s team will take on Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, January 6. Women’s will be at home at F&M Bank Arena at 2 p.m. and men’s will tip-off at 6 p.m. ESPN+ will have live stream of both games and you can tune into Govs Sports Network for live broadcast.