Austin Peay (9-5, 1-0 OVC) vs. Morehead State (4-10, 0-1 OVC)
Saturday, January 5th, 2019 | 4:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – With Ohio Valley Conference victory No. 1 settled after defeating Eastern Kentucky, Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team now turns its attention to Morehead State with an eye toward sweeping the opening weekend of league play in the Dunn Center.
If the history of this long rivalry—and the disposition of both teams—is any barometer, this will likely devolve into a physical confrontation between the Govs and Eagles.
Both have habitually favored physical play and high-pressure defense. Good looks on the offensive end and limited mistakes with the ball will be paramount for the Governors to keep their record at home spotless this season.
Morehead State struggled at the free-throw line against Murray State in their conference opener, hitting just 9-of-20 from the charity stripe. That was a continuation of a season-long problem for the Eagles, who are hitting just 66.8 percent at the line this season as a team.
This contest will commence following the conclusion of the Austin Peay women’s basketball game against Morehead State, which begins at 1:30pm; the men’s contest is scheduled for a tentative 4:00pm start time.
About the Morehead State Eagles
Morehead State still possesses all the same grit and tenacity that has been a program staple since the days of Kenneth Faried. However, their opponent shooting percentages (46.5) and scoring average (79.9 points) are both among the bottom-50 in Division I and now they’ll face an Austin Peay squad ranked 28th in scoring (83.5 ppg) and 51st in shooting (48.1 percent) entering the weekend.
Already a force on the offensive glass–the Govs pull down a league-high 33.9 percent of their misses on the offensive end–Austin Peay hopes to feast on a Morehead State team pulling in just 69.5 percent of their opponents misses, 10th in the league.
Last Time Out Against Morehead State
In a game featuring 62 combined fouls, Austin Peay emerged victorious in a 92-76 affair at the Dunn Center, January 27th, 2018. Terry Taylor (23 points), Dayton Gumm (21) and Averyl Ugba (18, with 15 rebounds) proved impossible for Morehead State to handle, while the Governors 57.7 percent shooting mark as a team left the Eagles with no margin for error on their end of the court.
Austin Peay limited Morehead State to 28.0 percent shooting in the first half and 38.2 percent for the game.
Keep An Eye On
A win would give Austin Peay back-to-back wins against the Eagles for the first time since 2010.
Austin Peay’s reserves are averaging 31.7 points over the last six games, with sophomore Dayton Gumm leading the way at 12.2 points over that stretch.
Senior Zach Glotta needs seven three-pointers to break into the career top-10 as a Gov.
Nine Governors have earned starts in 2018-19, the sixth-highest total across Division I.
Should the Govs achieve win No. 10 in their 15th game of the 2018-19 season, it would be the fastest an Austin Peay men’s basketball team has reached double-digit victories since 2000-01 (13 games).
Only Austin Peay, with Glotta (90.3 percent), Steve Harris (83.8) and Gumm (77.1) have three players in the top 10 in the OVC among free-throw shooters.
The Govs are averaging 12.7 fouls per game in their last three home contests.
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 the ESPN+ app.
Postgame video interviews and other videos from around APSU Athletics can be found on our YouTube page (www.youtube.com/letsgopeay).
