Austin Peay Govs vs. Morehead State Eagles
Saturday, January 27th, 2018 | 7:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s basketball looks to keep up its winning ways at home when the Govs host Morehead State, 7:00pm, Saturday, January 27th.
This matchup will pit a scrappy Morehead State squad which is a handful of baskets from being in the upper echelon of the league against an Austin Peay team that has been dominant at home (10-2 on the season, best since 2010-11).
Presented by Wendy’s, which will provide free t-shirts to the first 250 , fans attending this game can help out the Clarksville-Montgomery County Education Foundation’s Teachers Warehouse—fans who bring Dry Erase Markers, copy paper, expo cleaner, tissues, Wite-Out, Sharpies, crayons, highlighters, markers, glue sticks, rulers, clipboards and/or Clorox wipes will receive free admission to the contest.
About the Morehead State Eagles
Two of the Ohio Valley Conference’s best rebounding squads will meet up in the Dunn Center, Saturday; the Govs lead the league in both rebounds per game (39.1) and rebounding margin (plus-7.6) since league play started, while Morehead State is fourth in the former (37.0 rpg) and third in the latter (plus-4.7).
Preston Spradlin’s gritty Eagles squad has suffered heart-breaking losses to Tennessee Tech (69-67, December 28th), Southeast Missouri (78-75, January 11th) and Jacksonville State (58-57, January 18th), but avenged one of those losses a week ago in a 74-55 stomping of Tennessee Tech.
The one area the Govs hold a clear advantage on the Eagles is ball-control; Austin Peay’s plus-1.57 turnover margin leads the OVC, while Morehead State’s minus-3.40 is not only last in the league, it’s 333rd out of 347 schools nationally.
Last Time Out Against Morehead State
Despite a strong display from senior John Murry (21 points on 6-of-10 shooting), Morehead State controlled the offensive glass (16 offensive rebounds) and stymied the Governors in the second half, limiting Austin Peay to 36.0 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes in an 89-82 Austin Peay defeat at the Dunn Center.
Among players remaining in this season’s edition of the rivalry, Chris Porter-Bunton had 12 for the Govs and Lamontray Harris scored 13 as a reserve for the Eagles.
Notably
Austin Peay’s defensive improvement (-13.7 ppg) from 2016-17 to 2017-18 is ranked second only behind Central Michigan’s (-18.5 ppg). The Govs permitted 83.8 ppg a year ago and only 70.1 ppg this season.
A win would snap a four-game losing streak to Morehead State.
In nine OVC contests, the Taylor-Ugba pairing has boosted its rebounding averages, Taylor leading the OVC with 10.1 rebounds per game while Ugba ranks second (8.7 rpg). Taylor is the only player in the OVC averaging a double-double (16.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg) during league play.
A win would equal Austin Peay’s league win total from last season and surpass its overall win total from a year ago.
With Ed Stephens injured and Acoydan McCarthy stricken with an illness, the Govs dressed just nine players against Eastern Kentucky, believed to be the fewest since February 15th-17th, 1992.
Zach Glotta has reached double figures in scoring six times during the 2017-18 season; the Govs are 6-0 in those contests after defeating Eastern Kentucky.
APSU Govs Online
Check back at LetsGoPeay.com and on Austin Peay’s Official Athletics Facebook page often for up-to-date news about all Governor athletics, as well as the Governor men’s basketball Twitter page (@AustinPeayMBB). Live stats will be available during the game at PeayStats.com, and all home games and Ohio Valley Conference games can be viewed on www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com
Postgame video interviews and other videos from around APSU Athletics can be found on our YouTube page (www.youtube.com/letsgopeay)
