By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's appearance in the 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament ended quickly Wednesday night, amidst foul problems and shooting struggles that plagued the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles in a 92-72, first-round loss to No. 8 seed Austin Peay.
The Govs hammered away inside, getting every Golden Eagle post player into deep foul issues, and APSU post Chris Horton took advantage on the way to 37 points and 21 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Chris Porter-Bunton with 12 points and Josh Robinson with 11.
The Golden Eagles (19-11), who shot 38.7 percent from the field, were led by senior Torrance Rowe with 18 points and six assists, and senior Ryan Martin with 17 points and seven rebounds. Junior Hakeem Rogers came off the bench to add 11 points and six rebounds, while senior Anthony Morse chipped in with eight points and eight boards.
The Govs (15-17) shot 54.2 percent and held a 45-32 advantage in rebounds.
Fighting from behind from the outset after jumping ahead 2-0 for their lone lead of the night, the Golden Eagles never found a combination to slow down Horton. Martin, Mason Ramsey, and Courtney Alexander all spent time on the bench early thanks to a plethora of whistles whenever they hoped to play defense.
The Golden Eagles worked for open shots throughout the opening half, but simply couldn't find the range in the cavernous arena. The Golden Eagles went through a five-minute stretch in which they missed seven consecutive shots, and the Govs took advantage to claim a 12-7 lead.
Down 17-10, Rogers finally tickled the nets with a 3-pointer that cut the difference to four points, and Tech was within one at 25-24 with 5:53 to play in the first half after a layup by Savonte Frazier.
Austin Peay's 9-1 run, punctuated by a slam dink by Horton, lifted the Govs into a 34-25 lead with 4:17 to play.
A 3-pointer by Rogers made it a six-point difference, 36-30, before the Govs finished the half on an 11-5 stretch that sent them to the intermission with a 12-point, 47-35 lead. Horton had 20 points and 12 boards at the break.
Austin Peay broke to a 22-point lead in the first five minutes of the second half, thanks to a 16-6 run that made it a 63-41 contest. The Gov lead went to 26 points with 12:43 remaining, and Tech was never able to string together enough baskets to cut the difference to less than 20.
The nearest Tech came after that was 19 points, at 90-71, with 2:45 to play.
The loss puts the Golden Eagles on the sidelines temporarily as they await word of any possible post-season tournament play.
