Dec. 9, 2009

Final Stats |  Quotes

ATHENS, Ohio-Austin Peay's Wes Channels recorded his first career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Governors past host Ohio 68-66 Wednesday evening in the Convocation Center. Austin Peay improved to 6-4 overall, while Ohio dipped to 4-3.                                                            

The Bobcats also saw their 30-game non-conference home winning streak snapped with the defeat.                                           

Channels did most of his damage behind the arc (5-6 3FG), while Anthony Campbell and John Fraley added 12 points apiece. Caleb Brown and Marcel Williams shared top team honors with four assists.

Ohio was led by 12 points apiece from DeVaughn Washington and Armon Bassett, who also had three assists. Kenneth van Kempen once again led the Bobcats in the rebounding department with seven, while Washington and D.J. Cooper notched three steals.

APSU outrebounded Ohio 41-38.

Both teams struggled from the field, shooting below 37 percent, but each posted respectable free throw marks (APSU-82.6 percent, Ohio 75 percent). The Bobcats also held a 23-13 edge in points off turnovers and a 21-7 tally in bench scoring.                                                     

It was the Governors who scored first, jumping out to an early 6-1 lead before Steven Coleman (Melbourne, Fla.) drove powerfully down the lane for the first Bobcat basket of the evening. Jay Kinney (Champaign, Ill.) then scored a lay-in on a beautiful pass inside the paint by van Kempen (Weert, Netherlands), cutting the visitors' lead to one.  

The `Cats kept up the torrid pace for the next few minutes, stringing together an 11-2 run before Fraley broke it up with a mid-range jumper.

Thanks to a Bassett (Terre Haute, Ind.) jumper with a few minutes remaining in the half, the `Cats were able to stretch their lead to seven at 21-14. This was thus far the largest advantage either team had accumulated in the contest.  

The teams went to their locker rooms at the half with the Green and White holding a 33-23 advantage. Reggie Keely (University Heights, Oh.) and van Kempen were pacing the `Cats with four points each.

The Bobcats had a very balanced scoring effort in the first half, as 18 of the team's 33 points came from the bench. Ohio outrebounded Austin Peay 21-19 in the first half and was plus-two in the ball security department, generating six assists while committing only four turnovers.

At the half, Fraley led the Governors in scoring with five points on two of nine shooting from the field. He was also the team's leading rebounding, grabbing three offensive and two defensive boards.

The Governors began the second half shooting well, hitting at a 43 percent clip early on. They were able to cut the Bobcat lead to two at 40-38 when Channels hit a contested 3-pointer from the corner. The Governors kept on scoring and, on the strength of a 9-0 run, found themselves ahead by two with 12 minutes remaining.

Campbell hit a 3-pointer which appeared to give some momentum to the visitors, but Cooper answered back in a big way with a 3-pointer of his own to put Ohio up one at 46-45. Excellent team defense by the Bobcats then led to a shot clock violation from the visitors, and Kinney was able get to the line and sink two free throws to settle things down. Washington (Virginia Beach, Va.) followed the free throws with a skillful layup to stretch the lead.

Channels kept putting the pressure on the `Cats, hitting one from downtown to keep the Governors down only two at 57-55. This keyed a run for the Governors that put them up 62-59. Tommy Freeman was able knock down a 3-pointer just seconds later to even the score but Duran Roberson matched it to help his team take a three-point lead with two minutes remaining.

Cooper came up big with a difficult lay-in to narrow the gap down to one point, which led to Austin Peay using a timeout with 76 seconds remaining.

After a pair of Channels free throws, Cooper hit a floater in the lane to even the game at 66 with just 15 seconds left, but that was shortlived as APSU got to the line with 00.8 seconds remaining when Fraley was fouled on a scramble underneath the basket. He hit those free throws and Ohio turned the ball over on the ensuing desperation pass.

The Bobcats will be back in action Saturday at Delaware for a 2 p.m. tip.