Ohio Valley Conference Championship Recap
by Ryan Glenn
No. 2 Eastern Kentucky 52, No. 5 Austin Peay 46
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Eastern Kentucky punched their ticket to the big dance on Saturday afternoon with a 52-46 win over Austin Peay in a tight one. Austin Peay came out looking for their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons after upsetting the top seed Tennessee Tech. Eastern Kentucky was looking to avenge their semifinal defeat to Austin Peay in last years OVC Tournament.
In the first half, neither team came out shooting particularly well. APSU shot 17.4% (4-23) from the field in the half, while EKU shot a mediocre 34.6% (9-26). The second half showed improved play from both teams, but especially Austin Peay. When EKU got their lead up to thirteen, five minutes into the half, it was not looking good for APSU. The Governors, however, didn’t see this as a problem. They came back and went on an 8-0 run, to cut the lead to five. Baskets were traded for a while until Maurice Hampton nailed a three pointer, with 4:20 left, to put APSU down by just one.
EKU then quickly jumped back out to a five point lead that was topped off with a fast break lay-up by Matt Witt. Austin Peay stormed back, with a jumper from Zac Schlader and a pair of free throws from Hampton, to once again cut the lead to one. One point would be as close as the Governors would get. Zach Ingles hit a three, with 22 seconds left to give the Colonels a four point lead and crush any hope Austin Peay had.
Michael Haney, who was named Tournament MVP, finished with twelve points and thirteen rebounds. EKU’s leading scorer was Ingles with fifteen. For Austin Peay, Zac Schlader led the way with fourteen points and nine rebounds. Anthony David and William Durden also contributed nine points apiece for the Governors.
After the game, Austin Peay Head Coach Dave Loos was obviously disappointed in the play of this team.
“We obviously struggled offensively and we have to give Eastern Kentucky a lot of credit for that,” Loos said. “We shot 17 percent in the first half and when that happens it’s either one of two things; it’s either one of those nights with a lid on the basket or they’re really pushing you out of what you’re doing. I compliment our people for really nailing it in and fighting back. We put up a good effort offensively but still didn’t play well and once again, they had a lot to do with that.”
On the other side, Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Travis Ford was ecstatic.
“This is a great achievement for this basketball program,” Ford said. “If anyone knew where it was at when I took over, it’s an incredible feat for this basketball program, how far it’s come.”
OVC All-Tournament Team
Zach Ingles – Eastern Kentucky
Michael Haney – Eastern Kentucky
Maurice Hampton – Austin Peay
Zac Schlader – Austin Peay
Willie Jenkins – Tennessee Tech
