Sean Durugordon tallied career-highs in points (27), field goals made (11), and field goal attempts (19) and tied career-highs in 3-pointers made (4) and rebounds (10) for his second-career double-double, but the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team lost in overtime to North Florida, 90-85, on Saturday in ASUN Conference action inside UNF Arena. The Governors had won their previous three overtime games.
Durugordon shot 4-of-6 from deep and and paced three Governors in double figures with his second 20-point game in 48 hours. He recorded his fourth 20-point game this season and has scored in double figures in seven-straight games. Cameron Copeland recorded season-highs in points (17), 3-pointers made (3) and steals (3). He shot 6-of-11 overall and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to go along with seven rebounds. Elijah Hutchins-Everett ended with 13 points and was 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
Jalen Ware totaled nine points on 4-of-6 shooting for Austin Peay (6-9, 0-2 ASUN). Shon Robinson, playing in his first game since Nov. 17 due to injury, also chipped in nine points and six rebounds. Carlos Paez dished out a season-high eight assists for the second-straight game and passed Trenton Hassell (1998-2001) for fifth on the school’s all-time list. Now with 379, Paez is 13 shy of passing Caleb Brown (2007-11) for fourth. Caleb Stone-Carrawell had four assists.
The Governors, playing their first overtime game since a 68-64 triumph at SIU Edwardsville on Feb. 24, 2022, shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) overall, 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from distance, and 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free throw line. Austin Peay turned 10 Ospreys’ miscues into 13 points.
Each team recorded 17 assists on 31 made field goals.
Austin Peay opened up an 18-11 edge at the 14:47 mark of the first half following a Ware triple. The Governors’ largest lead of the period came with 56 seconds remaining when a Stone-Carrawell jumper in the paint made the score 40-31.
Austin Peay took a 42-36 edge into intermission on the strength of Durugordon’s 13 first-half points. Ware scored nine points and Copeland eight. The Governors shot 54.8 percent (17-of-31) from the field and made 17 first-half field goals for the second-consecutive contest. Austin Peay was 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from deep and limited North Florida (6-7, 1-0 ASUN) to just 10 percent (1-of-10) from behind the arc.
A Durugordon triple gave his team its largest lead of the game, 46-36, with 18:16 left in regulation, but the Ospreys responded with a 16-4 spurt and took a 52-50 upper hand at the 11:30 mark after a Jarius Hicklen 3. Following a pair of ties and lead change, Austin Peay mounted a six-point advantage with 4:05 left in regulation when Hutchins-Everett sank a pair of free throws. Carter Hendricksen scored seven-straight North Florida points, the last giving his team a 71-70 upper hand with 30 seconds on the clock. In consecutive possessions, Hutchins-Everett made two free throws, and Hicklen drained a triple to give the Ospreys a 74-72 advantage with seven seconds left. Following a timeout, Copeland went the length of the court for a game-tying layup as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Jose Placer and Robinson exchanged 3-pointers in the first 30 seconds of extra time. However, a Hicklen triple with 2:45 to go put his team ahead for good.
Hicklen ended with 18 points to lead five North Florida players in double figures. Placer added 17 points and was 3-of-6 from deep and 4-of-5 from the stripe. Hendricksen had 15 points and shot 8-of-9 from the line to go along with nine rebounds. Dorian James and Chaz Lanier each scored 11 points.
The Ospreys shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) overall, 30 percent (9-of-30) from deep, and 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the stripe.
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