Austin Peay beats Belmont in NIT opener

Austin Peay’s Zac Schlader slams home two of his nine points over Belmont’s Adam Mark during the first half of their first-round NIT game Wednesday, March 17, 2004, in Clarksville, Tenn. APSU won 65-59. (AP Photo)

As in defense.

The Governors’ (22-9) defense answered the challenge when it had to, sparking an 11-0 run during a two-minute stretch late in the game to help Austin Peay seal the victory and earn a first-round tournament date Friday with George Mason.

“That’s what we have to hang out hat on,” Loos said. “I was pleased with our defense.”

The Governors’ 11-0 run began when Rhet Wierzba’s 3-pointer with 3:28 left gave them a 49-48 lead. Austin Peay capped the run with two free throw by Anthony Davis with 52.3 seconds to play.

“We missed some shots and turned it over, and they made plays when they needed to,” said Rick Byrd, who guided Belmont (21-9) to its first postseason berth since the school moved to Division I four years ago.

But claiming the victory wasn’t that simple for the Governors, who had to weather a late Belmont 3-point barrage. The Bruins, down 10 points with 52 seconds to play, closed to within 61-59 on Steve Drabyn’s 3-point basket with 19 seconds remaining.

The Governors were able to close it out by making six free throws in the final 16 seconds.

“I felt we had a comfortable lead,” said Adrian Henning, who led Austin Peay with 15 points. “We were up 10 and there was a minute to go, but Belmont, I credit them. They came out and hit some big shots, a lot of tough ones, and it put a lot of pressure on us at the line at the end of the game.”

Austin Peay’s final 14 points came at the free throw line, as the Governors attempted 30 free throws in the game to just four for the Bruins.

Davis added 14 points for Austin Peay, which extended its home winning streak to 29 games.

Belmont’s Adam Mark led all scorers with 19 points, while Steve Drabyn added 12.