Austin Peay (7-9, 1-2 ASUN) vs. Central Arkansas (5-11, 0-3 ASUN)
Saturday, January 7th | 4:30pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team hosts Central Arkansas at 4:30 p.m. CT, Saturday, in the second of three-straight ASUN Conference games inside the Winfield Dunn Center.
The game is televised online on ESPN+. Updates are also available on the official Austin Peay men’s basketball Twitter and Instagram accounts (@GovsMBB).
Saturday is Alumni Day and Family Day inside the Dunn Center. The game is sponsored by Wendy’s.
Game Information
Promotions: Alumni Day; Family Day
TV: ESPN+
TV Talent: Barry Gresham (play-by-play), Bob Belvin (analyst)
Live Stats: letsgopeay.com
Twitter Updates: @GovsMBB
Instagram Updates: @GovsMBB
Series Information
Meeting: First
Overall series record: 0-0
Series record at Austin Peay: 0-0
Series record at Central Arkansas: 0-0
Series record at neutral site: 0-0
Last meeting: N/A
Last Austin Peay home win: N/A
Last Austin Peay road win: N/A
Last Austin Peay neutral site win: N/A
Last meeting at Austin Peay: N/A
Last meeting at Central Arkansas: N/A
Last meeting at neutral site: N/A
First meeting: N/A
First meeting in Dunn Center: N/A
Head Coach Nate James vs. Central Arkansas: 0-0
About Austin Peay State University Men’s Basketball
The Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team is coming off a 61-59 win, Thursday over Florida Gulf Coast in ASUN action in the Dunn Center.
APSU threw down three dunks, including two by Shon Robinson, and got 10 points from Rodrique Massenat, Sean Durugordon, and Carlos Paez. The Governors ended a four-game skid overall while snapping the Eagles’ five-game win streak.
Massenat, making his Austin Peay State University debut, did all of his damage in the first 20 minutes, going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep. Paez celebrated his birthday a day early by going 3-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc to go along with four assists.
Jalen Ware narrowly missed his first career double-double after tallying nine points and as many rebounds in the win. Robinson ended with eight points and shot 3-of-4 inside the arc. Guy Fauntleroy had seven points and dished out three assists.
APSU shot 42 percent (21-of-50) overall and went to the charity stripe 20 times, making 13 attempts. James’ squad had 11-second chance points, compared to just seven for the Eagles. The Red and White had 10 steals and improved to 6-1, including four-straight wins, in their last seven games when recording double digits.
Austin Peay State University and Queens (NC) are the two newcomers to the ASUN in 2022-23. For 59 seasons (1963-2022), the Governors were members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Saturday is the second contest of a three-game homestand for the Governors, who play five of six in the Dunn Center and all in middle Tennessee (at Lipscomb Jan. 14).
Austin Peay State University got the program’s first ASUN win, Thursday, 61-59 over Florida Gulf Coast in the Dunn Center.
APSU has won four-straight games overall in the Dunn Center.
Durugordon tallied career-highs in points (27), field goals made (11), and field goal attempts (19) and tied career-highs in 3-pointers made (4) and rebounds (10) while posting his second-career double-double Dec. 31 at North Florida.
Elijah Hutchins-Everett (24) and Sean Durugordon (20) each scored at least 20 points December 29th at Queens and were the first set of Austin Peay teammates to do so since Cameron Copeland (25) and Hutchins-Everett (20) at North Florida on Dec. 11, 2021.
Paez is nine assists shy of passing Caleb Brown (382 from 2007-11) for fourth place on the school’s all-time list. Against North Florida, Paez dished out a season-high eight assists for the second-straight game and passed Trenton Hassell (1998-2001) for fifth.
Paez passed Greg Franklin (1989-93) for sixth at Murray State on December 16th. Paez’s 3.6 career assists per game is tied with Derek Wright (2004-08) for eighth in program history.
Paez’s .886 career free throw percentage (min. 75 made) is the best in program history.
Hutchins-Everett posted his first double-double this season and seventh of his career against Murray State on Dec. 16 after totaling game-highs in points (17) and rebounds (11).
APSU won its last three home games in December by an average of 28.7 points per contest.
Austin Peay State University’s 26 assists against Kentucky Christian on December 6th were the most since recording that many against Oakland City on November 6th, 2018. The 58 rebounds against Kentucky Christian were the most for the Governors in the Dunn Center since recording 67 against Southern Indiana on December 8th, 1975. The 23 offensive rebounds were the most for Austin Peay State University at home since pulling down 24 versus Eastern Kentucky on February 15th, 2020.
The 25 made free throws versus Lindsey Wilson were the most for the Governors since tallying 27 against Dayton on Nov. 20, 2021. The 29 free throw attempts were the most for James’ squad since attempting 38 against Southeast Missouri on January 1st, 2022.
APSU is the only team in the nation to face 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), Bucknell’s Andre Screen (7-foot-1) and Noah Williamson (7-foot-0), Lindsey Wilson’s Lucas Ribeiro (7-foot-0), and Tennessee’s Uros Plavsic (7-foot-1), the Governors have faced seven 7-footers this year and could face their eighth Saturday in Central Arkansas’ 7-foot-0 Jonas Munson.
Drew Calderon posted career-highs in 3-pointers made (6) and attempted (11) in the Governors’ win over Kentucky Christian.
Durugordon has scored in double figures in eight-straight games and nine of the last 10, including four contests of 20 or more points.
Austin Peay State University has recorded 28 dunks in 16 games.
The Governors are 10-1 in their last 11 games when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points.
Over the past five seasons, APSU is 75-24 when holding a halftime lead.
Since the 2010-11 season, the Governors have compiled a record of 155-84 when scoring 70 or more points.
Austin Peay State University has made at least one 3-pointer in 653-straight games. The last time the Governors did not make a trey was on Feb. 18, 2002, against Morehead State.
The Governors have won four of their last five games when they make 10 or more treys.
APSU has won six of its last seven games, including four straight, when recording 10 or more steals.
Austin Peay State University leads the ASUN and ranks 52nd nationally in free throws percentage (.747).
Durugordon leads the conference in offensive rebounds per game (2.6). Hutchins-Everett is third in the league in field goal percentage (.485).
Austin Peay State University faced a pair of schools – Murray State and Tennessee – in consecutive games which owned two of the top seven longest active home win streaks in the country.
The Governors traveled to Murray State on December 16th. The Racers had won 20-straight home games, which was seventh.
Austin Peay State University traveled to Tennessee on December 21st. The Volunteers have won 24 consecutive home games, which is fifth. After Tennessee, the Governors played at Queens, which has won 17 straight home games, a streak that is tied for 10th.
Ware was named to Greenlight Sunshine Slam All-Tournament Team on Nov. 23. 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 State University 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.
The Governors are represented by nine states – Tennessee (Kamarie Coffey, Codey Bates, Jacob Roberts), North Carolina (Caleb Stone-Carrawell, Ware), New York (Durugordon, Kelechi Okworogwo), New Jersey (Elijah Perkins, Massenat), Texas (Calderon), Maryland (Fauntleroy), Illinois (Robinson), Alabama (Nathan Moore), and Georgia (Copeland). Paez, from Venezuela, is the team’s lone international player. Austin Peay has had a player from outside of the United States on its roster every season dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.
Austin Peay State University is:
- 7-3 when leading with two minutes to play in regulation;
- 5-1 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent;
- 7-3 when its opponent shoots under 50 percent;
- 5-1 when outrebounding its opponent;
- 3-1 when making 10 or more 3-pointers;
- 6-1 when making more free throws than its opponent;
- 4-1 when making 15 or more free throws;
- 5-2 when recording more assists than its opponent;
- 3-1 when scoring more points in the paint than its opponent.
Austin Peay State University has won at least three-consecutive games:
- In the Dunn Center
- On Mondays
- Outrebounding its opponent
- Recording more offensive rebounds than its opponent
- Making 15 or more free throws
- Scoring more bench points than its opponent
- Scoring more second-chance points than its opponent
About the Central Arkansas Bears
The Central Arkansas Bears are coming off a 77-75 home loss, Thursday, to Eastern Kentucky in ASUN action.
Camren Hunter scored a game-high 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting to lead four Central Arkansas players in double figures. He also dished out six assists. VJ Reeves had 16 points and was 4-of-8 from deep.
Eddy Kayouloud had 12 points. Ibbe Klintman tallied 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and a 2-of-2 mark from 3.
The Bears shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) overall, 40 percent (10-of-25) from 3, and 37.5 percent (3-of-8) at the line. The Bears were outrebounded 43-32, including 16-11 on the offensive glass, and were outscored in bench points (28-6), points in the paint (46-32), and second chance points (14-6).
Central Arkansas has lost seven-straight games overall.
The Bears have dropped nine-consecutive true road games and are 0-7 this season. They are 6-50 in the last four seasons.
Head coach Anthony Boone, in his fourth season guiding the program, underwent successful heart surgery Thursday and will be out indefinitely, which was announced Friday. Brock Widders is the acting head coach and began that role Thursday.
Tip-Ins
Saturday is the first-ever meeting between Austin Peay State University and Central Arkansas.
Tickets
Single-game tickets to any of the APSU Governors’ eight remaining regular-season 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
- By calling 931.221.PEAY (7329)
