Men's Basketball | January 12, 2018
CLARKSVILLE— Austin Peay State University men's basketball continues a four-game road trip with a visit to defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion Jacksonville State, 4:30 p.m., Saturday, at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The Govs look to end a six-game road losing streak, and will galvanize behind the trio of big men who have led the way through the early portion of the OVC schedule. Junior Chris Porter-Bunton has been particularly effective over the last four games, reaching double figures in four straight and pouring in a career-high 23 points at Tennessee Tech.
Scouting the Gamecocks
The defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions have not rested on their laurels in 2017-18, joining the Govs as one of five teams tied atop the OVC at 4-1 through five games. Ray Harper's crew is getting it done defensively, leading the league in scoring defense (64.3 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (39.1 percent), three-point field goal defense (31.2 percent) and blocked shots (5.7 bpg). Offensively, the scoring is spread out (six players average at least 8.2 ppg), with Malcolm Drumwright (team-leading 13.7 ppg) the Gamecocks' reliable perimeter threat and Christian Cunningham (league-leading 75.6 percent shooting) the surest two points in the OVC from in the paint.
Last Time Out Against Jacksonville State
Despite holding Jacksonville State to 44.2 percent shooting, including 29.4 percent from beyond the arc, a late Gamecock run pushed the hosts to a 71-68 win, Jan. 7, 2017 at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Austin Peay had two looks from three in the game's final moments but couldn't get one more to roll home.
Notably
- Freshman Terry Taylor (8.4 rpg) and senior Averyl Ugba (7.2 rpg) are the only set of teammates in the OVC's top-10, ranking fourth and ninth, respectively.
- A win would be Austin Peay's first at Jacksonville State since 2011.
- Porter-Bunton has now hit a three-pointer in six consecutive games; he hit one three, total, in the season's first 11 contests. His career-long four straight games in double figures was extended by a career-high 23 points in the road opener at Tennessee Tech.
- A win would be Austin Peay's first in the regular season against the defending conference tournament champion since 2011.
- Over the last seven games, the Govs hold a plus-9.0 advantage in rebounding margin, which has led to a 16.9-8.0 advantage on second-chance points during that span.
- A win would snap Austin Peay's six-game road losing streak.
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).
