Late first-half surge powers Illinois State past Govs

December 23, 2012 |

NORMAL, Ill– Illinois State broke open a tie game with a half-ending 14-2 run as Austin Peay State University fell, 83-57, Saturday afternoon in non-conference basketball action played at Redbird Arena.

The loss was APSU’s fourth straight, dropping the Governors to 4-8 heading into Christmas. Meanwhile, Illinois State, a member of the Missouri Valley, improved to 9-3.

Turnovers again proved to be a Govs problem as they committed 25, six coming in the final 6:35 of the first half as ISU broke open a 26-26 game. It was the fifth time this season APSU had 20 or more turnovers.

After ISU took the lead 28-26 on a Tyler Brown layup, APSU failed to take a shot on its next five possessions, all ending in turnovers. By the time the Governors could take another shot, the Redbirds were leading 36-26 as the turnovers turned into ISU layups or dunks.

Illinois State took advantage of APSU’s 12 first-half turnovers by scoring 18 points and 28 overall from turnovers during the game.

The turnover flurry more than offset a strong first 14 minutes by the Govs. With junior guard Travis Betran and freshman post player Chris Horton both struggling, the Governors held their own against a Redbird team that has built an impressive early season resume. Anthony Campbell nailed four first-half three pointers to spur the Govs.

In fact, Campbell tallied his second 20-point game of the week, going for 20 on 7-of-13 shooting (5 of 9 three-point field goals). He was APSU’s only double-figure scorer.

Junior walk-on point guard Jeremy Purvis, in just his second game, and freshman forward Preston Herring, in only four minutes, added eight points.

The Govs began the game knocking down 7 of 14 shots, but went just 13 of 35 (37 percent) the game’s remainder. As a result of turnovers, the Governors have attempted less than 50 shots in four of the last six games.

Jackie Carmichael, the preseason All-MVC forward, recorded his second straight double-double, scoring a ISU-high 18 points to go with 11 rebounds.

Brown added 16 points and six of his Illinois State’s 12 steals.

The Redbirds, shooting better than 50 percent from the floor entering the game, maintained that consistency by going 34 of 68 from the floor.

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