CLARKSVILLE—Before the game, Austin Peay State University men's basketball team honored senior Terry Taylor for recently breaking the program's career scoring record.
Taylor then went out and added 32 points to that tally in a 78-63 win against Southeast Missouri, Saturday, the latest in what has been a series of dominant performances during the lefty's four years in Clarksville. Enjoy the greatness; this caliber of player comes along once in a generation.
Saturday, it was obvious from the start that this is one of the special nights Taylor will periodically create out of thin air that we'll remember long after his time as a Gov has come to an end. In the first 10 minutes of action, the Govs led 21-10 and Taylor already had 15 points, coming on threes, and-one opportunities and second-chance clean-up jobs that opponents have found it hard to stop as the years have gone by.
A 10-0 Austin Peay run later in the first half, highlighted by a Carlos Paez three-point play, helped take the Govs into halftime with a comfortable 15-point lead at 42-27. Taylor racked up 23 in the half. It was all Govs, all the time.
And it would stay that way for most of the second half. Although there was a little of head coach Matt Figger's least-favorite phrase in there—"playing the score and not the opponent"—Austin Peay never saw its lead drop back into single digits at any point in the half and led by as much as 22 points after a highlight-reel dunk by Elton Walker at the halfway point.
The Govs would only hit three field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game—a layup from Taylor and a pair of Tai'Reon Joseph three-pointers—but Austin Peay's ball-hawking defense stopped many Southeast Missouri possessions before they ever got fully going. The Govs purloined 12 steals in the contest, its first outing with double-digits in the steal column since Dec. 14 against McKendree.
Taylor finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds, numbers that look super-human until you do a little research and find that it's the 11th time in his Austin Peay career he's put up at least 30 points and 12 rebounds in the same game. So basically, every 11 times Terry Taylor has put on an Austin Peay uniform, he's put together one of the greatest performances of his or anyone else's career.
The Difference
Austin Peay had Terry Taylor, which makes a pretty sizable difference in most contests. On a team level, the Govs harassed Southeast Missouri into 21 turnovers, while committing just 13 of their own. That eight-possession difference mattered considerably given how comparable both teams shooting percentages were (44.6 percent for Southeast Missouri, 47.4 percent for the Govs.
Notably
- The Govs have won eight in a row against Southeast Missouri, the longest streak in the series for either team in program history.
- With 24 points off turnover against the Redhawks, Austin Peay is now averaging 19.4 points off turnover over its last seven games. This game also marked the 25th time in a row the Govs forced their opponents into at least 10 turnovers.
- Austin Peay's 24 free-throw attempts against the Redhawks equaled a season high.
- The Govs have posted 20 or more fastbreak points in back-to-back games after breaking 20 just once in the season's first 19 outings.
- Paez has now made 27 straight free throws dating back to Jan. 2. He's also at 49.0 percent (25-for-51) from three over his last 13 games.
- The Govs are 9-0 when outshooting their opponent and 9-0 when holding the opponent below 45 percent from the floor this season.
- In addition to reaching double figures for the third straight game with 14 points, Joseph hauled in a career-high three steals.
- Austin Peay is now 10-0 this season when it holds an opponent below 70 points.
- The Govs have won the turnover battle four games in a row for the first time this season.
- Mike Peake is at 63.2 percent (55-for-87) from the floor since the start of OVC play. He also scored his 200th point as a Gov during the Southeast Missouri contest.
- Milestone Watch—Career: Taylor passed Doug Stamper (1961-64) and tied Jim Beshears (1959-62) for fifth all-time with 386 free-throws made.
They Said It
Coaching Quotables with Head Coach Matt Figger
On early effort and energy
"We came out and had a great shoot today. Our whole plan was to take them out of the rhythm of their sets. We did that for about 17 minutes of the first half; we've got guys sacrificing themselves and playing hurt right now and we're trying to piece it together and get them some time."
On Taylor
"They didn't have an answer for him. All I have to do is keep dialing up plays for him."
On gaining momentum
"We're still trying to peak at the right time. I'd love to tell you that we're going to get healthy but I don't know if that's going to happen. Our guys are giving it what they've got and I'm really happy for us to get another win. It's been a weird, crazy year and we've only got two more chances here in the Dunn Center this year."
Up Next for the Govs
Thanks to the conundrums that COVID-19 rescheduling have caused, the Govs and Redhawks will meet again Tuesday night at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau; tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
