CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – A season-high field-goal percentage and a season-best defensive field goal percentage allowed led Austin Peay State University's basketball team to a 98-44 victory against Midway, Tuesday, on Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena.

Austin Peay (4-6) made a season-high 37 shots on 66 attempts. That percentage, 56.1, bested the team's previous high of 47.1 which was set against Fisk, Nov. 14, while its 28.6 field-goal percentage defense was 9.1 percent less than its best defensive performance from the field which also came against Fisk.

Freshman Dez White led Austin Peay in scoring for the third time this season with 22 points –  his second 20-point performance this season and the ninth by a Gov in 2023-24. Ja'Monta Black finished second on the team with his second 20-point outing of the season.

For the second time this season, the Governors struck first on White's first of eight baskets. 

From then on, it was all Austin Peay.

The Govs jumped out to an 11-0 run in the first 4:20 of Tuesday's contest following Hansel Enmanuel's second make of the night. It was not until the 14:56 mark in the opening half that Midway (4-4) entered the scoring column, ending a streak of five-straight misses..

Midway missed eight of its first nine attempts from the field, as APSU extended its lead to 21-2 less than eight minutes in – with the Govs connecting on 9-of-14 shots in that span.

Austin Peay led by 20 with 11:27 remaining after White scored his second three-pointer for the Govs' 24th point. Including his long-range basket, three of APSU's next four scores came from beyond the arc, with Dezi Jones connecting on his first triple amidst a 13-0, with his second of the night putting APSU up 45-10 with 2:19 left in the half.

After an Eagles triple – their only on 15 first-half attempts – to make their deficit 32 Sharp split a pair of free throws for the final point of the opening 20 minutes, giving the Govs a 46-13 advantage at the break.

White alone outscored the Eagles in the first half with 14 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc, while Sharp, Hansel and Jones were tied for second in the game with eight points. 

The 13 first-half points allowed are the lowest in the digital record, best the previous known record of 14 in the second half against Oakland City, Nov. 6, 2018.

Midway had its longest scoring streak of the night early in the second, with six-straight points to trim the Govs' lead to 29 with 17:46 remaining, but the Govs quickly regained a 30-point advantage on their next trip down the court with a step-back basket by Sharp.

After three-straight misses from the field – just one of four times that would happen on the night for APSU – the Govs went on to rattle in eight of their next 10 attempts, including six-straight between 15:00 and 12:07 remaining in the second half, to take a 69-28 lead. Four of the Govs' six-straight makes came via the long ball, with White and Ja'Monta Black splitting the scores. 

Austin Peay maintained a 40-point lead for all but two minutes following its hot streak, and gained a then-game-high 45-point lead at 81-36 with 7:06 remaining in the game. 

With 91 seconds remaining, Harrison Black drained a pair of free throws – his first-career at the line and first points as a Gov – to give the Govs a 50 and 51-point advantage. 

Austin Peay made four of its final five attempts from the field in the final four minutes, while limiting the Eagles to just two baskets on 13 attempts in the final 8:56 to claim its largest win since a 64-point victory against Carver, Dec. 4, 2020.

Up Next

It's rivalry week in Clarksville, as the Governors host that team from Calloway County in a 6:15 p.m. Saturday contest on Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena, following the women's 4 p.m. doubleheader against the Racers.

The Difference

Efficiency on both ends of the court. It's next to impossible to beat a team that makes 56.1 percent of its attemtps from the field, and about as impossible as impossible gets in basketball to beat them when shooting jsut 28.6 percent from the field yourself. The Govs accomplished both of those against the Eagles. They also forced 18 turnovers and translated those into a season-high 28 points off turnovers.

Inside the Box Score

• Austin Peay earned its first win in its first regular-season contest against Midway.
• The Governors improved to 4-3 against first-time opponents this season in their final inaugural matchup of the campaign.
• Austin Peay improved to 3-1 at home this season.
• The 54-point win is the largest since the program defeated Carver 102-38, Dec. 4, 2022 in the Winfield Dunn Center. 
• Dez White led Austin Peay in scoring for the third time in his career.
• White's 22 points are tied for the sixth-most by a Gov this season.
• White's five three-pointers are the second-most of his career, trailing only seven against Fisk, Nov. 14.
• White's four assists also are the second most of his early career and trail only five against Life in his first-career game, Nov. 6.
• DeMarcus Sharp registered his fifth 20-point performance as a Gov with exactly 20 points against the Eagles.
• Sharp has scored at least 20 points in four of the last five games.
• Sharp registered his fourth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. His number on the boards is tied for his second most this season which also is tied for the third-most by any Governor in 2023-24.
• Hansel Enmanuel set numerous career highs against the Eagles including in points (eight), rebounds (10), offensive rebounds (five), made field goals (four) and minutes (29:16).
• Austin Peay improved to 13-0 all-time against programs from the River States Conference.
• The Govs improved to 3-3 following a loss this season.
• Austin Peay now is 2-0 when playing on Tuesday.
• The Govs improved to 4-1 this season when recording a higher field-goal percentage and 4-0 when recording most fast-break points. 
• Austin Peay's 98 points are its most since scoring 102 against Kentucky Christian, Dec. 6, 2022.
• The Govs' 44 points allowed are its fewest surrendered since allowing the previously-mentioned 38 against Carver in 2020.
• Austin Peay had a season-high 28 points off turnovers, 25 second-chance points, 26 bench points and tied for a season-best 38 points in the paint.
• The starting lineup of DeMarcus Sharp, Ja'Monta Black, Dez White, Hansel Enmanuel, and Daniel Loos improved to 1-0 this season. The group is the fifth starting lineup for the Govs thus far this season.
• DeMarcus Sharp (+40), Dez White (+47), Ja'Monta Black (+35), Daniel Loos (+30), Harrison Black (+13), Dezi Jones (+33), Jonathan Dunn (+23), and Hansel Enmanuel (+43) all had a season-high in plus-minus.

Coach's Corner

With Austin Peay head basketball coach Corey Gipson

Overall thoughts… "We are still trying to find chemistry within our rotations  on this roster. We are trying to find an offensive and defensive rhythm and that has been a tall task for us thus far, but we have made some strides in things we do both offensively and defensively. Now we have to find roations that can give us consistency."

On the two-way efficiency… "Little victories are very important. I am never moved by an outcome of the game. Some people will ask me 'how are you doing coach?' I am always doing great because I am given the opportunity in real time to evaluate in real time with the lights on and even in practices, how we are improving as a team. We have to continue to work as a team and staff in finding the right chemistry with the collective group of guys that we have to where we may have one group that is good offensively, one defensively, but we have to find a happy medium with a group where we find an equilibrium on both sides of the game."

On Enmanuel Hansel's career day… "He has to continue to be consistent. At Northwestern State, he started the last five games of the season for us because he is very capable of doing what we need him to do and what we ask him to do. Hansel has to continue to find a defensive rhythm where he is being assignment correct and he has to continue to find an offensive rhythm when people decide to plug off of him and trap other players. There is still a lot of work yet to do as to how he reads the game, but one thing I can guarantee is that he never lacks in effort when he plays the game."

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For news and updates throughout the 2023-24 season, follow the men's basketball team on X and Instagram (@GovsMBB), on Facebook (Austin Peay Men's Basketball), or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.