Before heading to Akron, Ohio to play the Zips, the APSU Govs opened their non-conference schedule and season opener against the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Govs rallied from 17 down to cut the lead to 31-25 headed into halftime. From there, the Vols’ Tyler Smith showed why he is a pivotal piece to Tennessee’s hopes for success this season. He scored eight of the first nine points for the Vols to open the second half.

The Vols did not look back on their way to an 83-54 win against the Govs.

APSU’s Anthony Campbell led all scorers with 17 points. Wes Channels and Tyrone Caldwell had 13 and 11 points, respectively.

“They obviously wore us down with their size and athletic ability,” said APSU head coach Dave Loos.

The Govs had a lenghty trip to Akron to think about the loss, but apparently, more traveling was what they needed to turn things around.

The Govs went on to an 80-77 victory over the Zips in the first game of the Glenn Wilkes Classic.

“To be able to come in here and win, especially in the way the guys did, is pretty significant. I think we probably grew as a team today,” Loos said.

The win came with the help of an impressive second half performance by Duran Roberson. Roberson hit a free throw with eight seconds left in the game to push the Govs lead to 79-74.

With the Govs trailing by 12 points, with five minutes and 26 seconds left to play, senior Wes Channels converted a lay up to help start an 18-3 run that closed out the game for the Govs.

Channels finished with a game-high 17 points. He scored 12 points in the first half.

“He is our leader, and he is going to try a lot of things,” Loos said. “He is going to make a lot more good plays than poor ones; he had a good game as a player and as a leader.”

The Govs led by six in the opening three minutes before the Zips took off. Akron took the lead to 15 points with two minutes and 34 seconds left in the first half on two free throws from Chris McKnight. From there, the Govs ended the half down 44-32.

For the Govs, Campbell finished with 14 points, after having only one point in the first half. Tyrone Caldwell finished with 14 and Roberson had 12.

“This is really encouraging because this is a good basketball team that, as I said before, will win a lot of basketball games and probably end up in the NCAA tournament,” Loos said.
The Govs will return to the hardwood on Friday Nov. 20, against IUPUI to start the first of three games to continue the tournament.