CLARKSVILLE—Austin Peay State University men's basketball team kicks off the home portion of the regular season schedule with a 7 p.m., Monday, contest against Oakland City in the Dunn Center.
The Govs look to make it four wins in their last five home openers and 17 home-opening victories in 27 attempts under head coach Dave Loos. Austin Peay looks to move to 7-0 all-time against the Mighty Oaks in a series that dates back to 2000.
Oakland City can score in bunches; the Mighty Oaks averaged 84.0 points per game last season and went 17-2 when scoring more than 80. However, the Govs have never given up more than 70 points to Oakland City in any of their previous six meetings and have averaged 85 points per game.
Scouting the Mighty Oaks
Four of Oakland City's five leading scorers are back from last season for Dr. Mike Sandifar's 25th season on the Oakland City sidelines. The Mighty Oaks have long been an NCCAA power, going 21-6 a year ago and hitting 48.2 percent from the floor as a team, including four players at better than 50 percent from the floor (minimum 50 attempts). Oakland City thrashed Principia, 85-63, in Saturday's season opener.
Summing Up Dayton
Josh Robinson (26 points) more than held his own in the scoring column, but the Govs couldn't stop Charles Cooke (31 points) or the Flyers transition game (33 fast-break points) in a 96-68 defeat in Ohio. Assane Diop (10 rebounds) posted a career- and game-high in rebounds.
Last Time Out Against Oakland City
The Governors offset a so-so shooting night (41.3 percent from the floor, 28.0 percent from beyond the arc) with a 54-33 rebounding advantage, led by Chris Horton (19 boards, 17 points) in an 83-55 win, Nov. 25, 2015. Addison Wagler, who returns in 2016-17 for the Mighty Oaks, led all scorers with 22 points, while Robinson added 16 on 7-of-14 shooting for the Govs.
Keep An Eye On…
- Robinson's House: Robinson's 26-point performance in the opener was his fourth-straight 20-point outing, dating back to last season. It's the first streak of four or more 20-point performances by a Gov since Travis Betran scored 20 in four straight from Jan. 3-12, 2013.
- Youth In Revolt: Friday's contest at Dayton was the first that did not feature contributions from at least one freshman player since the 2013-14 season.
- Two-Man Show: Robinson (8-for-17) and Chris Porter-Bunton (4-for-9) carried the load for the Governor offense at Dayton; the rest of the squad shot just 10-for-30 against the Flyers.
- Dubiously: A loss would be the second home-opening loss in a row for the Govs, who have had just one losing streak in home openers during the Dave Loos era (2008-11).
- Milestone Watch: Robinson needs 70 points for 1,000 in his career, while Loos is nine wins away from 500 as a collegiate head coach.
They Said It
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 LetsGoPeay.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/CultureofExcellence).
