CLARKSVILLE—After polishing off the Team Up North at home in this season's initial Battle of the Border contest, Austin Peay State University men's basketball team makes the return trek to the CFSB Center for a 7 p.m., Saturday contest against Murray State.
The Governors enter play needing a win to keep pace as the conference race winds toward its inexorable conclusion. This contest marks the beginning of Austin Peay's second time through the Ohio Valley Conference West Division, with the Govs going 3-2 in their first meetings with West Division foes in 2016-17.
The Racers and Govs announced the annual 'Battle of the Border' competition last fall, sponsored by Heritage Bank, with a scoring system based on wins, community projects and other volunteer work. For more information, visit this page.
Scouting the Racers
Although losers of four of their last five outings, including overtime defeats at the hands of Austin Peay (Jan. 21) and Morehead State (Feb. 8), Murray State is returning to the CFSB Center--a place that has seen the Racers go 8-3 in 2016-17, including a win against West-leading UT Martin, Jan. 28. Jonathan Stark (21.4 ppg) has recently taken the lead in the OVC scoring race; he had 27 points on 11-for-26 shooting in Austin Peay's previous contest against the Racers, but he also went 3-for-14 from three and committed six turnovers.
Summing Up Tennessee State
A second-half drought doomed the Governors in a 70-66 decision against Tennessee State, with Austin Peay hitting just one shot over nine minutes at one point. John Murry led all scorers with 20 points and tried valiantly to mount a one-man comeback in the final moments—he scored 10 points over the final 2:39, including a layup to get the Govs within a point with five seconds left.
Last Time Out Against Murray State
Murry and Josh Robinson each scored 22 points, while Kenny Jones (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Jared Savage (14-10) had double-doubles to lead the Govs to an 84-81 overtime win in the Dunn Center, Jan. 21. The Governors hassled the Racers into 16 turnovers and won the rebounding battle 45-42, offsetting a relatively pedestrian shooting night (42.6 percent from the floor, 27.3 percent from three) by Austin Peay.
Keep An Eye On…
- A win would be the 500th in head coach Dave Loos' collegiate career.
- Chris Porter-Bunton is averaging 8.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg and shooting 48.7 percent (19-for-39) from the floor in his last seven games.
- A victory would give the Govs a season sweep of Murray State for the first time since 2009.
- With Terrell Miller (16.2 ppg, ninth) flanking Stark and Murry (15.6 ppg, 10th) developing into a sterling complimentary piece to Robinson (21.0 ppg, third in the OVC), the Racers and Govs are the only teams with two players in the OVC's top-10 in scoring.
- In league play, Robinson (20.7 ppg, fourth) and Murry (19.2 ppg, fifth) are the only teammates in the top five in scoring.
- In 16 of 25 games this season, Jones has shot at least 60 percent from the floor. He ranks fifth (59.3 percent) in the conference in shooting among qualified players. He and preseason OVC Player of the Year Evan Bradds are the only players in the league in the top-15 in scoring and the top-10 in shooting and rebounds.
- Jones may be one of the league's most efficient players, but he's also had his share of bad luck from a numbers standpoint. Five times already in 2016-17, Jones has finished one rebound short of a double-double, including two of his last three games.
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 PeayStats.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/letsgopeay).
