The annual Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball rivalry game against the Murray State University Racers was played on Saturday, Feb. 7.
The Governors (7-17, 2-8 OVC) put up a fight but fell short to the Racers (21-4, 11-0 OVC) 82-72.
The game was sold out, and there was only one section of blue and yellow in a sea of red Govs fans.
APSU fell short to notch their fourth loss in a row and another close loss in the OVC.
This loss could be blamed on free throw shooting. MSU shot 75 percent (27 of 36) from the free throw line, while APSU only made 52 percent (16 of 31) of their free throws, which was their third game in a row shooting less than 70 percent.
Not only did the Govs have poor free- throw shooting, but their percentage from the field was also only 38.8 percent, while the Racers were able to shoot 48 percent from the field.
At half time, Murray State had a lead of 16 points. Although the Govs outscored the Racers 46-40 in the second half, it was not enough.
The Govs never had a lead in the second half due to Racers T.J. Sapp and All-American candidate Cameron Payne scoring 27 of the Racers’ points shooting a combined 90 percent (19 of 21) from the free-throw line.
Players who assisted APSU included juniors Chris Horton and Khalil Davis, both with double-doubles, alongside freshman Josh Robinson.
Horton’s double-double consisted of 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Davis led the Govs in scoring with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Robinson added to the Govs’ campaign with 13 points coming off the bench.
The Govs have only six games left this season, all being OVC matchups and all but two are away games.
The two games this week are matchups against Eastern Illinois (13-8, 7-4 OVC) on Thursday, Feb. 12, and UT Martin (16-8, 7-3 OVC) on Saturday, Feb. 14.
The Govs defeated Eastern Illinois away earlier this season.
The Govs were strong against the University of Tennessee Martin at home on Thursday, Feb. 5, only losing by 12. They may have to shoot at least 70 percent from the free-throw line if they want to win.
