FINAL STATS

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay used an early run and several trips to the free throw line to pull away from and hold off the Jacksonville State men's basketball team in an 80-66 win at Dave Aaron Arena on Saturday night.

The Govs (12-8, 7-2 Ohio Valley Conference) used a 16-2 run midway through the first half to pull ahead of the Gamecocks (2-18, 0-9 OVC) and then shot 24-for-31 from the free throw line to hold them off in improving to 15-1 all-time in the series. The win was APSU's eighth in as many tries over JSU in Clarksville.

Senior Nick Murphy led the Gamecocks with 18 points on the night and continued to climb the school's career scoring list. The forward from Bronx, N.Y., ran his career total to 1,359 points and moved from 10th to seventh place in school history on the night. Already the school's scoring leader at the Division I level, he passed former JSU greats Anthony Kingston, Robert Clements and Robert Spurgeon on Saturday.

The Govs got 23 from junior Tyshwan Edmondson in the win, while Josh Terry and John Fraley added 16 and 11 points, respectively. Edmondson, the OVC's leading scorer, scored 14 in the first half and went 10-for-17 from the floor on the night, while also grabbing five boards and dishing four assists.

The Gamecocks won the battle on the glass, 29-26, but committed 21 turnovers that led to 20 Peay points. They turned it over more than 20 times for the second-straight game and the third time in five games.

Senior Jeremy Bynum joined Murphy as the only two JSU players in double figures with 10 points, going 4-for-7 from the floor, 2-for-4 from behind the arc.

JSU did block five shots, three by senior Sean Thurston, who added six points and three rebounds. Junior Stephen Hall scored nine points, while Murphy led all players with eight rebounds.

The Gamecocks never led but hung with the Govs for the first 10 minutes of the game. Peay opened it up at that point, though, using a 16-2 run to turn a 15-15 tie into a 31-17 lead that it wouldn't give up.

Edmonson torched the nets in the first half for a game-high 14 points, while Murphy's eight led JSU. The Gamecocks outrebounded the Govs in the first 20 minutes, but 12 JSU turnovers led to 11 APSU points and helped the Govs to a 37-25 halftime advantage.

JSU was able to pull back into the game early in the second half, thanks to an 11-4 run to open the half that cut Peay's lead to 41-36 with 17:33 remaining. JSU continued to cause APSU trouble early on in the second half and even held the Govs without a field goal for a seven-minute stretch at one point.

Unfortunately, while the Govs were struggling from the field, they were able to hit 13 of their first 14 free throws of the half to not only maintain their advantage but increase it.

The Gamecocks will stay on the road next week, when they travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Charleston, Ill., to face Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois, respectively. They will take on SEMO on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. CT before a 6 p.m. tip at EIU on Saturday.