Ohio Valley Tournament Recaps
by Ryan Glenn
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Tennessee Tech (72), No. 8 Eastern Illinois 68
Before this game, nobody would have thought the final score would have been close to what it was. The top seed actually trailed by ten at the half, but fought their way back with a 50 point second half. Willie Jenkins, who was Tennessee Tech’s leading scorer, shot only 5 of 18 from the field. Behind Jenkins was Anthony Fisher, who made all nine of his free throws on his way to fourteen points. Emanuel Dildy led the way for Eastern Illinois with twenty points and four rebounds.
No. 5 Austin Peay 71, No. 4 Samford 60
Austin Peay, following a late 22-4 run, was able to pull off the first upset of the tournament. Anthony Davis led the way for Austin Peay, scoring nineteen points and pulling down seven rebounds. J. Robert Merritt helped Samford stay in the game with his nineteen points. Samford just couldn’t stop Austin Peay’s shots in the second half, including a 40-foot three-pointer, which went in as the shot clock expired.
No. 2 Eastern Kentucky 74, No. 7 Tennessee State 68
Eastern Kentucky was the second high seed of the night to get a scare. Trailing by seven at the half, Eastern Kentucky roared back, shooting 66.7% from the field. Eastern Kentucky had to rely on their big man, Alonzo Hird, to help seal the deal. Hird was the leading scorer for Eastern Kentucky with fifteen points and a spectacular fifteen rebounds. Tennessee State was lead by three players in double digits.
No. 6 Southeast Missouri 61, No. 3 Murray State 58
Southeast Missouri pulled of the biggest upset in the first round of the tournament. Murray State missed a three-pointer with five seconds left that would have tied the game. Instead, the defending OVC tournament champions were sent home. Southeast Missouri had three players account for 51 of their 61 points. Those three were Reggie Golson (21), Dainmon Gonner (20), and Derek Winans (10). The key stat for Murray State was their three-point shooting, as they shot 30% (6-20) from behind the arc.
Semifinals
No. 5 Austin Peay 67, No. 1 Tennessee Tech 61
Tennessee Tech once again struggled in the first half of their game, trailing 31-30 at the break. Their leading scorer, Willie Jenkins, shot a disappointing 4-13 in the half. Austin Peay came out and showed the crowd how team play is supposed to be done. The Governors did not have any one break the double digit mark in the half, but did have four players with more than five points. There was a major difference in this game and the last for Tennessee Tech. This time, they never recovered from their first half play.
Jenkins ended the night with 21 points. Austin Peay was led by Maurice Hampton with eighteen points. Austin Peay controlled the game with their aggressive play inside and out, forcing sixteen turnovers and scoring 32 points in the paint.
No. 2 Eastern Kentucky 69, No. 6 Southeast Missouri 52
Southeast Missouri came into this game looking to pull the second upset of semifinals. For most of the first half, Southeast was able to stay within five. The only bad thing for Southeast was that Eastern Kentucky was controlling the boards, as the Colonels had a 25-11 rebound advantage in the first half. Near the end of the half, however, Eastern Kentucky went on a run that concluded with a three pointer in the last two seconds that gave the Colonels a 35-23 halftime lead. Eastern Kentucky didn’t look back after that, as they weren’t up by any less than ten in the second half. Eastern Kentucky ended up with a total of 38 rebounds and 47.3 shooting from the field in a 69-52 win.
Championship Game Matchup Set
On Saturday, No. 5 Austin Peay will face off against No. 2 Eastern Kentucky in the Championship game at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. Tip-off time is set for 3:00 CST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
