Austin Peay (3-4) vs. Western Kentucky (6-1)
Wednesday, November 30th, 2022 | 7:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team and Western Kentucky face off for the final time in the Winfield Dunn Center on Wednesday at 7:00pm CT.
The game is televised online on ESPN+. Updates are also available on the official Austin Peay State University men’s basketball Twitter and Instagram Story accounts (@GovsMBB).
Wednesday is Youth Sports Day inside the Dunn Center.
Broadcast Information
TV (Internet): ESPN+
TV Talent: Barry Gresham (play-by-play), Bob Belvin (analyst)
Live Stats: letsgopeay.com
Twitter Updates: @GovsMBB
Instagram Story Updates: @GovsMBB
Series Information
Meeting: 57th.
Series Record: 14-42 (L10)
Last Meeting: Western Kentucky 97, Austin Peay 75 (Nov. 9, /2019; at Western Kentucky)
Last Austin Peay home win: Austin Peay 95, Western Kentucky 87 (Dec. 8, 1990)
Last Austin Peay road win: Austin Peay 69, Western Kentucky 59 (Dec. 5, 1987)
Last Austin Peay neutral site win: Austin Peay 72, Western Kentucky 68 (Dec. 29, 1999; Green Bay, Wisconsin)
Last meeting at Austin Peay: Western Kentucky 72, Austin Peay 55 (Dec. 22, 2017)
Last meeting at Western Kentucky: Western Kentucky 97, Austin Peay 75 (Nov. 9, 2019)
Last meeting at neutral site: Austin Peay 72, Western Kentucky 68 (Dec. 29, 1999; Green Bay, Wisconsin)
First meeting: Western Kentucky 42, Austin Peay 34 (Jan. 1, 1942; at Austin Peay)
Head Coach Nate James vs. Western Kentucky: 0-0
About the Austin Peay State University Governors
The Austin Peay State University Governors are coming off a 56-55 loss to Howard, on November 26th, inside the Dunn Center. Sean Durugordon totaled career-highs in points (21) and field goal attempts (16) and tied career-highs in 3-pointers made (4) and free throws made (5). He was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Elijah Hutchins-Everett ended with nine points. Durugordon and Hutchins-Everett each grabbed eight rebounds. Cameron Copeland added seven points and six boards for Austin Peay State University, which shot 30.3 percent (20-of-66) overall and 7-of-11 from the charity stripe.
James’ team recorded 14 assists on 20 made field goals and held edges in points off turnovers (17-9) and bench points (7-5). Austin Peay State University committed only eight turnovers while forcing 19. The Governors held the Bison scoreless for a 4:52 stretch in the first half, leading to a 16-14 advantage at the 8:20 mark.
Back-to-back Durugordon treys as part of an 8-0 APSU run to close the period gave his team a 29-24 upper hand at halftime. Howard did not score for the final 4:40 of the half. The Governors’ spurt expanded to 12-0 after a Durugordon jumper and Jalen Ware steal and dunk put their team in front 33-24 with 18:35 to go.
Austin Peay State University again led by nine twice before the 14:32 mark, but the Bison answered with a 10-1 run to tie the affair at 41 midway through the half. Three ties followed before Copeland buried a trey from the wing to put his team in front, 54-51, with 4:27 on the clock. Howard countered to take a 56-54 edge at the 1:57 mark.
Austin Peay State University faces the two tallest players in the country this season in Western Kentucky’s Jamarion Sharp (7-foot-5) and Purdue’s Zach Edey (7-foot-4). Including South Florida’s Russel Tchewa (7-foot-0) and Bucknell’s Andre Screen (7-foot-1) and Noah Williamson (7-foot-0), the Governors have faced five seven-footers so far this season.
The Governors look to snap a six-game skid against teams from the state of Kentucky after winning two of the previous three.
Shon Robinson was named the ASUN Conference Newcomer of the Week on November 21st. He became the school’s first player to garner the honor with the Governors playing their first season in the league. Robinson averaged 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in a pair of wins over Milligan and South Florida.
Against the Buffaloes, he tallied career-highs in points (27), field goals made (10), field goal attempts (16), free throws made (7), free throw attempts (13), and steals (6). Robinson posted 10 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes as the Governors defeated the Bulls and an AAC opponent for the first time in program history.
Ware was named to Greenlight Sunshine Slam, presented by Discount Tire, All-Tournament Team on November 23rd. In three games, Ware averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game. He shot 60 percent overall (9-of-15) and from distance (3-of-5).
Austin Peay looks for its first win against a current Conference USA member since winning at Middle Tennessee 78-75 on December 29th, 2007. The Governors eye their first win in the Dunn Center against a current Conference USA member since a 64-63 victory over the Blue Raiders on December 20th, 2006.
Austin Peay scored its first win in program history against South Florida and an American Athletic Conference opponent with a 62-60 victory at South Florida on November 17th. It was the first victory over a current member of the AAC since an 81-80 triumph at Memphis, then affiliated with Conference USA, on November 22nd, 2002.
APSU has recorded 18 dunks in its first seven games.
Paez dished out five assists against Howard and passed Nick Stapleton for seventh on the school’s all-time list. Paez has totaled 344 assists in four seasons with the Governors.
The Governors are 8-1 in their last nine games when holding opponents to 60 points or less.
Over the past five seasons, Austin Peay State University is 72-20 when holding a halftime lead.
Since the 2010-11 season, the Governors have compiled an overall record of 152-81 when scoring 70 or more points.
APSU has made at least one 3-pointer in 644 straight games. The last time the Governors did not make a trey was on February 18th, 2002 against Morehead State.
Austin Peay State University is 3-0 when Stone-Carrawell scores at least 12 points.
The Governors have won their last three games, including a 2-0 mark this season, when they make 10 or more 3-pointers.
APSU has won four of its last five games, including two straight, when recording 10 or more steals.
Austin Peay State University leads the ASUN and ranks 16th nationally in turnover margin (5.9). The Governors are second in the league and 48th in the country in turnovers forced per game (16.71).
Paez leads the ASUN and ranks 36th nationally in free throw percentage (.900).
The Governors are represented by nine states – Tennessee (Kamarie Coffey, Codey Bates, Jacob Roberts), North Carolina (Stone-Carrawell, Ware), New York (Durugordon, Kelechi Okworogwo), New Jersey (Elijah Perkins, Rodrique Massenat), Texas (Drew Caldaron), Maryland (Guy Fauntleroy), Illinois (Robinson), Alabama (Nathan Moore), and Georgia (Copeland). Paez, from Venezuela, is the team’s lone international player.
Austin Peay State University has had a player from outside of the United States on its roster every season dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
About the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are coming off a 90-64 win at home over South Carolina State on November 26th. Six Western Kentucky players scored in double-figures. The Hilltoppers opened the game on a 22-4 run, extending their run to near the 12-minute mark. The run was made up of baskets from five different Western Kentucky players, with nine of the points coming from Luke Frampton on three 3-pointers.
The Hilltoppers scored 14 of the final 20 points of the half and led 47-30 at the break. Western Kentucky put together an 11-0 run between 16:14 and 13:33 in the second half and increased its their lead to 65-38. While South Carolina State outscored the Hilltoppers in the paint, 46-30, Western Kentucky outrebounded the Bulldogs, 50-28.
The Hilltoppers dished out 22 assists on 29 made buckets while also shooting 50 percent (29-of-58) from the field for the third time this season. Frampton (18), Emmanuel Akot (17), Tyrone Marshall (16), Dayvion McKnight (14), Jairus Hamilton (12), and Jamarion Sharp (10) all scored in double figures. Sharp also had eight rebounds and seven blocks. McKnight logged a double-double with 10 assists and eight rebounds.
The Hilltoppers have won three-straight games overall and are 1-0 in true road games.
Western Kentucky head coach Rick Stansbury served as an assistant at Austin Peay State University for six seasons (1984-90) under former head coach Lake Kelly. In that time, Austin Peay State University recorded three consecutive winning seasons, including an OVC tournament championship and NCAA tournament second-round berth in 1987.
Western Kentucky is second in the country in 3-point percentage (.470). The Hilltoppers have attempted the most 3-pointers of any team in the top five, with the top-ranking team 30 attempts behind Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are third in the nation in blocks per game (6.6).
Sharp leads the country in blocks (34) and blocks per game (4.86). Frampton is second in the country in 3-point percentage (.636), 3-pointers per game (4.0), and 3-pointers made (28).
With 13 blocks against Indianapolis at home on November 15th, the Hilltoppers broke the program’s record for blocks in a single game.
In Western Kentucky’s 127-61 win at home over Kentucky State on November 12th, the team broke numerous program and NCAA Division I 3-point records.
At 7-foot-5, Sharp is the tallest player in the country for the second season in a row. He is also the tallest player in the history of the program. Western Kentucky has seven players who are 6-foot-7 or taller and is the country’s tallest team, according to Ken Pom.
Last Meeting
Austin Peay lost at Western Kentucky, 97-75, on November 9th, 2019.
Camron Justice had 22 points to lead five Hilltoppers in double figures after going 8-of-10 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep.
Western Kentucky shot 60 percent (30-of-50) overall, 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from deep, and 89.7 percent (26-of-29) from the free throw line.
Terry Taylor had 22 points, including 18 in the second half, and seven rebounds for the Governors. Antwuan Butler finished with 13 points and five assists.
In the second half, Austin Peay State University shot 50 percent (17-of-34) and 13-of-18 from the stripe.
The Governors finished 39.7 percent (27-of-68) from the field and 17-of-23 from the line.
Tip-Ins
Wednesday’s clash is one that was rescheduled from last season, originally set for December 22nd, 2021. The postponement was not a result of COVID-19 or any medical issues within the Governors’ program. Wednesday’s affair is the first of a home-and-home series between Austin Peay State University and Western Kentucky. The Governors travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to square off with Hilltoppers in 2023-24.
Austin Peay State University has not faced Western Kentucky since 2019. Paez is the only Governor on the current roster who played in that game.
The Governors have not hosted the Hilltoppers since December 22th, 2017. APSU looks for its first win in the series since a 72-68 triumph on December 29th, 1999, in Green Bay, Wis. The Governors eye their first win against Western Kentucky in the Dunn Center since a 95-87 victory on December 8th, 1990.
Tickets
Single-game tickets to any of the Governors’ 13 remaining home contests in their final season in the Dunn Center start as low as $10.00 and can be purchased:
- In-person by visiting the SS&E office inside the Dunn Center
- Online
- Via email (jmitchell@ssellc.com)
- By calling 931.221.PEAY (7329)
