Ohio Valley Conference

#1 AUSTIN PEAY 78, #4 UT MARTIN 77
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Drake Reed sank a free throw with 2.2 seconds left as Austin Peay State University moved into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament title game as the Governors defeated Tennessee-Martin,78-77, Friday night in Municipal Auditorium.

The Governors now will play the winner of the Murray State-Tennessee State game, played later Friday night, in a 4 p.m. Saturday contest to be telecast by ESPN2.

The victory improved the Governors, the tourney’s No. 1 seed, to 23-10, while UT Martin ends its season at 17-16.

But the Skyhawks almost gave the Governors more than they could have handle, in particular OVC Player of the Year Lester Hudson. The 6-3 guard scored 22 second-half points, including two free throws with 30 seconds left that tied the game at 77-77.

After an Austin Peay timeout, APSU coach Dave Loos put the ball in Derek Wright’s and the senior point guard, who earned second-team All-OVC, found a cutting Reed with four seconds left. As Reed attempted to score the go-ahead basket he was fouled by Daron Hood with 2.2 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Reed stepped to the line and missed the front end of the two-shot foul. However, he sank the second one. UTM’s Marquis Weddle could not get off a potential game-winning shot in time as the Governors moved into the OVC title game for the ninth occasion, the fifth time in the last six seasons.

It took offensive balance for the Governor to offset Hudson and Weddle, the OVC Freshman of the Year. The latter scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half as the Skyhawks built as much as an eight-point lead. But the Governors, who had seven different players score in the opening half, stayed patient and scored six straight points to get back in the game.

APSU tied it at 32 and 34 before UTM stretched its lead back to 40-34 before APSU finished the half on an 8-2 run, the last bucket coming by Wright with three seconds left to send the game into intermission tied at 42.

The Governors gained early second-half momentum and led by as much as nine points, 72-63, with 5:3. But Hudson would not yield as Martin went on a 10-3 run as Hudson’s three pointer made it a 75-73 game with 2:12 left.

Reed and Fernandez Lockett each made on one of two free throws as the Governors led 77-73 with 2:12 left. But Hudson twice made two free throws to tie the game, setting up Reed’s game winning free throw.

Wes Channels came off the bench to lead APSU with 16 points while Lockett added 15, Reed 13 and Todd Babington 11. Lockett and Babington each broke the 1,000-point career mark during the contest. In fact, Babington, who had one point at halftime, knocked a down a trio of early second-half three pointers to help the Govs gain momentum.

The Govs finished the contest shooting 46.7 percent (28 of 60) from the floor while hitting 10 of 22 from the three-point line?it was the fourth straight game APSU made 10 or more three pointers. The free throw line, however, almost led to APSU’s undoing as the Governors connected on just 12 of 22 compared to 22 of 25 by Tennessee-Martin.

The Skyhawks also held a 40-33 rebound advantage, which helped them offset 24 of 59 (40.7 percent) field-goal shooting.

#6 TENNESSEE STATE 83, #2 MURRAY STATE 75
NASHVILLE (AP) - Bruce Price scored 20 points to lead No. 6 seed Tennessee State to an 83-75 upset victory over No. 2 seed Murray State on Friday in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

The Tigers were playing in their first tournament semifinal game since 1998 and will also play in the championship game Saturday for the first time since 1998.

TSU (15-16) made 11 of 12 free throws in the final 2:31, including four straight by Price, to hold off a late Murray State rally.

Ray George led the Racers (18-13) with 25 points off the bench and Danero Thomas scored 21.

Murray State went ahead 56-53 with 8:56 remaining, but a 9-0 run by the Tigers gave them a 62-56 lead with 6:18 left. They would not trail again.

Price's 3-pointer with 4:23 remaining was particularly damaging to Murray State, as it gave Tennessee State a 69-60 lead, matching their largest of the game.

A 3-pointer by George pulled the Racers to 78-75 with 32.9 seconds to go, but Price, Jerrell Houston and Moraye Ive combined to make five of six free throws in the final 26.4 to preserve TSU's victory.