Tennessee Tech pulls away early, beats Austin Peay 86-74

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Curtis Phillips Jr. scored 26 points to lead Tennessee Tech to an 86-74 victory over Austin Peay on Thursday night.

Tennessee Tech (12-6, 4-1 Ohio Valley Conference) has won four of its last five games while Austin Peay (9-8, 4-1) had its four-game win streak snapped.

Phillips was 8 of 12 from the field. Aleksa Jugovic added 22 points and made all 10 of his free throws for the Golden Eagles. Kajon Mack and Mason Ramsey each chipped in 12 points.

Chris Porter-Bunton scored 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting to lead Austin Peay. Averyl Ugba had 16 points and Terry Taylor 10.

The Tigers used a 23-7 run spanning both halves for a 50-37 lead with 15 minutes left. Shaq Calhoun made two 3-pointers and Jugovic chipped in another six points during the stretch. Austin Peay pulled to 68-64 with 5:45 remaining, but didn't get closer.