Austin Peay Pulls Upset to Reach Title Game

Maurice Hampton scored 18 points, and fifth-seeded Austin Peay advanced to the final of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament with a 67-61 victory over top-seeded Tennessee Tech on Friday night at Nashville.

Zac Schlader added 14 points and seven rebounds, and William Durden added 10 points for the Governors, who lost in the tournament championship game last year.

Austin Peay will face Eastern Kentucky, a 69-52 winner over Southeast Missouri, in today’s title game.

In other conference tournaments:

Atlantic Sun: T.J. McCullough made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left as top-seeded Gardner Webb survived an upset scare for the second straight game to defeat Jacksonville, 77-76, and advance to today’s championship game at Nashville. Gardner Webb will face second-seeded Central Florida, a 66-61 winner over Belmont.

Colonial Athletic Assn.: Nick D’Antoni scored 20 of his season-high 26 points in the second half to lead William and Mary to a 68-54 win over James Madison at Richmond, Va. In another first-round game, Harding Nana scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Delaware to a 76-56 victory over Towson.

Horizon League: Blake Schilb scored a career-high 39 points, including nine in overtime, to lead Loyola Chicago to an 87-81 victory over Illinois Chicago in a quarterfinal game.

In another game, Brandon Cotton scored 19 points to lead Detroit to a 61-48 win over Wright State.

Missouri Valley: Eric Gray had 15 points and Indiana State barely made a 22-point first-half lead stand up in a 63-61 victory over Bradley in a first-round game at St. Louis. In another game, Lonnie Randolph had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, helping Drake beat Evansville, 82-68.

Southern: Josh Gross scored 22 points to lead North Carolina Greensboro to a 73-68 win over Davidson in a semifinal game at Chattanooga, Tenn. In the final, N.C. Greensboro will meet Chattanooga, which defeated Appalachian State, 57-51.

Sun Belt: J.J. Montgomery scored 25 points to lead Arkansas State past North Texas, 84-76, in a first-round game at Denton, Texas. In other games, Steve Thomas had 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead Middle Tennessee past New Mexico State, 77-63, and Ivan Almonte scored 19 points to lead Florida International over South Alabama, 60-57.

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Spencer Nelson scored 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to lead Utah State to a 65-43 Big West win over Idaho at Logan, Utah. Nate Harris also scored 13 for the Aggies (22-7, 13-5), who clinched the No. 2 seeding and a bye in the first round of next week’s conference tournament.