Austin Peay tops Edwardsville 86-82 to clinch third in OVC

Feb 23, 2018, 03:54 am

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Chris Porter-Bunton matched his season high with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Zach Glotta hit four 3-pointers and scored 19 and Austin Peay held off SIU-Edwardsville 86-82 on Thursday night.

Averyl Ugba added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Governors (17-12, 12-5 Ohio Valley Conference), who wrapped up third place and a first-round bye in the conference tournament with the win. Dayton Gumm scored 12 and Terry Taylor chipped in with 10 points and six boards for Austin Peay, which shot 56 percent from the floor and 47 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Jalen Henry topped the Cougars (9-19, 5-12) with 26 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. David McFarland added 15 points and six boards and Christian Ellis scored 11 for SIU-Edwardsville, which sits a game out of the eighth and final seed for the conference tourney with one game left.

The Governors trailed by a point at halftime and didn't take the lead for good until Porter-Bunton nailed a 3 for an 83-80 advantage with 59 seconds left. Glotta and Porter-Bunton sank 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12 seconds to preserve the win.