Coming off a double-digit upset of Loyola University Chicago, NIU men’s basketball (3-4) came up short in their match against the Austin Peay State University Governors (4-3) in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Tuesday.
“Just an ugly performance by us,” head coach Rashon Burno said. “We practiced and talked about both sides of the ball, and I thought our offense was stagnant. We just had a bad performance overall.”
The Huskies kept pace in the first half, trailing 41-38 at halftime after shooting 17-32 from the field and 2-9 from deep. The Huskies’ field goal shooting helped keep them even with a Governors squad that went 17-27 from the field.
After a tight first half, the wheels fell off offensively for the Huskies, allowing Austin Peay to pull away in the second half, including a 13-0 run for the Governors midway through the second. The Huskies put up only 21 points, going 8-28 (28.57%) from the field.
“These guys just didn’t have the right intentions to play for 40 minutes,” Burno said. “They punched us in the mouth and were more physical around the basket than us.”
Sophomore guard Gianni Cobb came off the bench with 12 points, shooting 62.50% from the field. Sophomore guard Makhai Valentine followed close behind with 10 points, going 4-13 with 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
“Luckily we’re at home on Saturday,” Burno said. “You’ll see a different team coming out of the locker room on Saturday.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies will take on the Bellarmine Knights at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and stats will be available on SIDEARM Sports.
