Career victory No. 500 certainly didn’t go exactly how Austin Peay State University head men’s basketball coach Dave Loos drew it up, but he’ll gladly take it all the same.

After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, Loos’ Governors staged a furious second-half rally to post an 85-80 victory to remain alive in the Ohio Valley Conference race and secure a hallowed milestone for the longtime head of the program.

“I’m thankful. I told our players that there are a lot of people who contributed to the amount of wins—players, fans.” Said Loos. “I saw people tonight who have probably been here for all of the home wins. It’s rewarding, but it’s a team effort, because you’re only as good as your players, coaches and fans.”

Loos, who is in his 27th season at Austin Peay, has accumulated 418 of his wins with the Governors. He began his career as a head coach at Christian Brothers University back in 1982, where he went 82-53 in four seasons.

Last season, Loos became the only coach in Ohio Valley Conference history with 400 victories and with his fourth conference tournament title, he tied E.A. Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1922-64) for most tournament victories in OVC history and is the only coach in history to be named OVC Coach of the Year five times. Only 13 other Division I coaches have longer tenures at their respective schools than Loos.

Austin Peay looks to give Coach Loos win #501 when they return to action on Saturday as they host SIUE.