Austin Peay downs E. Illinois 76-65 at OVC tourney

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Terry Taylor scored 12 of his 27 points in the first half and No. 3-seed Austin Peay beat No. 6-seed Eastern Illinois 76-65 in Thursday night’s quarterfinal of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The Governors (21-11) advance to Friday’s semifinal against No. 2-seed Murray State (22-8).

Alec Woodard scored 11 points and Jordyn Adams scored 10 with seven assists for the Governors, who led 42-19 at halftime on 61% shooting with 13 points coming on fast breaks. Taylor had 12 rebounds and Eli Abaev had 10.

George Dixon scored 15 points with 12 rebounds for the Panthers (17-15), who shot 4 of 22 from long range 18%. Shareed Smith scored 12 points, Mack Smith and Josiah Wallace had 11 each and Jordan Skipper-Brown added 10.