CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Much of the second half of Saturday's Austin Peay-Southeast Missouri game it appeared the Governors would be heading on the road to open 2010 Ohio Valley Conference play.
But thanks to Wesley Channels' will, the Governors will be playing at home, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, against Tennessee Tech.
As APSU head coach Dave Loos says, "being at home guarantees nothing but it is a good place to begin."
In fact, the Governors two games against the Golden Eagles have been challenging. The Governors lost a 94-90 decision at Tennessee Tech back in late January but needed overtime less than two weeks ago to defeat the Golden Eagles, 77-72. Trailing by three with 24 seconds left, Anthony Campbell knocked down a three pointer to force the game into overtime.
That was the second of a three-game losing streak by the Golden Eagles. However, Tennessee Tech bounced back to defeat Jacksonville State, 72-62, Saturday night to earn the No. 6 seed and a return trip to Clarksville.
For the Golden Eagles, sophomore forward Kevin Murphy has been on fire of late, scoring 20 or more points in three straight games. He had 22 points against JSU and is averaging 15.8 ppg on the season.
Senior guard Frank Davis, one of the nation's top three-point shooters (46 percent), is averaging 14.0 ppg, while fellow guard Elijah Muhammad is averaging 12.1 ppg.
The Governors, meanwhile, will attempt to reach the OVC tourney semifinals for a fourth straight year. To do so, they will need the defensive effort that was manifested against Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks shot just 34.3 percent in the game as the Governors fashioned a 2-3 zone in the first half before resorting to their more traditional man-to-man in the second half.
The Governors also rode the back of Channels, who scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and overtime. The Memphis native scored the go-ahead bucket on driving lay up with 14.1 seconds left and then hit a pair of free throws seconds later to propel the Govs to the comeback overtime victory.
