Govs whip Redhawks from start

Austin Peay is supposed to be a bit vulnerable this season after losing three starters from last year's Ohio Valley Conference championship team.

The Governors displayed few vulnerabilities in rolling past Southeast Missouri State 91-67 on Thursday night at the Show Me Center.

Austin Peay opened a 15-5 lead in the first five minutes, was up 45-27 at halftime and never saw the margin dip under 14 points in the second half.

"I was very pleased," said Austin Peay coach Dave Loos, whose squad has captured the past two OVC regular-season titles. "I thought we played very well."

The undermanned Redhawks hoped to make a statement that they would not be the OVC pushover many expect.

ELIZABETH DODD ~ edodd@semissourian.comSoutheast Missouri State's Calvin Williams scores from close range against Austin Peay during the second half Thursday at the Show Me Center.

Instead, the Redhawks were remotely competitive in the conference opener for both teams.

Southeast (2-5) never led, and the only tie all night was the 0-0 deadlock to begin the game.

The Redhawks trailed by at least 10 points for the final 35 minutes of the 40-minute contest.

"We just came out slow. They threw the first punch," junior center Calvin Williams said. "They just really came out harder than us. It seemed like they wanted it more the first half."

That had Southeast acting coach Zac Roman puzzled.

Roman said the Redhawks had a good week of practice leading up to the game, and he liked their energy during Thursday's shootaround.

Yet Roman didn't think any of that carried over into the contest.

"We just didn't start the right way," Roman said. "They came out with more energy than us to start the game.

"I told our guys that's unacceptable at home. Maybe we took a step back, I don't know. But we have to get that corrected."

Roman knew it would take a big-time performance by Southeast to upset the Govs (4-2), who are directed by one of the most successful coaches in OVC history.

"They're very good, well coached and disciplined," Roman said. "You make a mistake, they'll make you pay."

Many of the mistakes the Redhawks made in the decisive first half were on the defensive end as Austin Peay continually got wide-open shots.

Austin Peay hit 7 of 12 first-half 3-pointers, including a perfect 5 of 5 by senior wing Kyle Duncan.

"They executed well," Williams said. "We really weren't talking [defensively] effectively."

The Govs shot 51.5 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and carried a 45-27 advantage into the intermission.

Austin Peay was rolling even though star senior forward Drake Reed, averaging 19.2 points, had just two points at the break.

"I never thought we'd get a cushion like that at halftime with Drake Reed having two points," Loos said.

Duncan hit his sixth straight 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half to put Austin Peay up 48-27. Duncan had already tied his career-high scoring performance with 18 points.

Roman said he was surprised how poor Southeast's defense was.

"We work on that every day," he said.

The Redhawks twice pulled to within 14 points in the second half, the final time with just under eight minutes left.

But Austin Peay regained control and coasted home, leading by as many as 26 points in the late going.

"They just played harder than us," Southeast senior forward Jaycen Herring said.

Williams led Southeast offensively with 21 points. He also had six rebounds and blocked three shots.

Herring scored 17 points and senior guard Kenard Moore added 13 points, but hit only 2 of 8 3-pointers.

Junior guard Wes Channels led the Govs with 20 points and Duncan -- who finally missed a 3-pointer but still hit 6 of 7 from beyond the arc -- had 18 points.

Reed made just 3 of 11 shots and was held to 13 points, but the Govs did not need his normal inside dominance as they finished shooting 50.8 percent.

"We shot the ball so well early," Loos said. "When you shoot it well, it covers up a lot of sins."

Southeast will try to bounce back Saturday as Tennessee State visits the Show Me Center for another OVC game.

"We let this one slip away. We just have to come ready for Saturday," Herring said.