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AUSTIN PEAY MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA CONTACT Colby Wilson, Assoc. Director of Athletic Comm. Winfi eld Dunn Center • Clarksville, TN 37040 E: [email protected] • P: 931-221-6561 • C: 615-604-3803 2017-18 GAME NOTES | THE OVC TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS AUSTIN PEAY (18-13, 12-6) vs BELMONT (23-8, 14-2) SCHEDULE MARCH 2, 2018 ■ FORD CENTER ■ EVANSVILLE, IND. DATE OPPONENT TIME THE MATCHUP FASTBREAK Nov. 4 Sewanee (Exh.) W, 95-78 ■ NIT Tip-Off Classic (Campus Sites) OPENING TIP... THE RUN CONTINUES Nov. 10 at Vanderbilt (SECN+) L, 54-73 • Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team Nov. 13 at Virginia (ACC NETWORK) L, 49-93 fi nds itself opposite a familiar foe in a familiar spot, Nov. 15 Oakland City W, 109-50 as the Govs take on second-seeded Belmont in a 9 Nov. 19 UNC Asheville L, 79-82 (OT) p.m., Friday, tipoff in the OVC semifi nals. Nov. 22 Bethel & W, 90-58 • It’s a rematch of the 2016 OVC Semifi nals, one of the Nov. 26 Miami University W, 86-51 most epic games in recent memory--a 97-96 thriller Nov. 29 at Oklahoma State (FOXSSE) L, 63-79 AUSTIN BELMONT that propelled Austin Peay on to a championship. Dec. 2 Alabama A&M W, 67-47 PEAY • Austin Peay’s defensive improvement (-12.7 ppg) Dec. 6 at Illinois (B1G NETWORK) L, 57-64 2017-18 RECORD 2017-18 RECORD from 2016-17 to 2017-18 is ranked second nationally Dec. 16 at Evansville (ESPN3) L, 74-78 (OT) 18-13 ■ 12-6 OVC 23-8 ■ 14-2 OVC only behind Central Michigan’s (-16.1 ppg). The Govs Dec. 19 Troy W, 75-73 LAST GAME LAST GAME permitted 83.8 ppg a year ago and only 71.1 ppg Dec. 22 Western Kentucky L, 55-72 March 1, 2018 Feb. 24, 2018 this season. Dec. 28 SIU Edwardsville • W, 78-58 W, 73-66 vs EIU W, 84-59 vs Tennessee State • In 18 OVC contests, the Terry Taylor-Averyl Ugba Dec. 30 Eastern Illinois • W, 70-54 in Evansville in Nashville pairing boosted its rebounding averages; Ugba led Jan. 4 UT Martin • (CBS Sports) W, 75-69 HEAD COACH HEAD COACH the league at 9.1 rpg, while Taylor’s 8.1 rpg ranked Jan. 6 Southeast Missouri • W, 76-71 Matt Figger Rick Byrd third against league opponents. Eastern Kentucky (1995) Tennessee (1976) • Austin Peay’s bench is averaging 21.3 ppg over the Jan. 11 at Tennessee Tech • L, 74-86 18-13 ■ 1st season at APSU 685-339 ■ 32nd season at BEL Jan. 13 at Jacksonville State • W, 87-67 18-13 ■ 1 career season 777-394 ■ 37 career seasons last seven contests, led by Zach Glotta (13.2 ppg). • With 30 points against Evansville on his previous Jan. 18 at Tennessee State • L, 56-70 LEADERS LEADERS journey to the Ford Center, Taylor became the fi rst Jan. 20 at Belmont • L, 59-83 Averyl Ugba Dylan Windler Jan. 25 Eastern Kentucky • W, 90-84 ■ 15.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, ■ 17.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, Austin Peay freshman since APSU Hall of Famer Nick 1.1 bpg, 54.3 FG% 55.7 FG%, 42.8 3pt FG% Stapleton (Feb. 13, 1999) to score 30 or more in a Jan. 27 Morehead State • W, 92-76 Feb. 1 at UT Martin • W, 59-57 Terry Taylor Amanze Egekeze single game as a frosh. ■ 14.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg ■ 16.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, • Only Glotta, Tre’ Ivory, Chris Porter-Bunton, Steve Feb. 3 at Southeast Missouri • W, 96-81 53.5 FG%, 43.8 3pt FG% 50.7 FG%, 42.0 3pt FG% Harris, trainer Joni Johnson and assistant coach Feb. 8 at Murray State • (CBS Sports) L, 63-84 Dayton Gumm Kevin McClain Hayden McClain were with the program for Austin Feb. 10 at Eastern Illinois • W, 76-69 ■ 10.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg ■ 12.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, Peay’s last OVC Tournament appearance. Feb. 15 Tennessee Tech • L, 80-86 1.2 spg, 43.2 FG% 45.7 FG%, 71.0 FT% • The Govs were among the most decorated units Feb. 17 Jacksonville State • W, 60-57 when the OVC postseason awards were announced. Feb. 22 at SIU Edwardsville • W, 86-82 ■ INSIDE THE SERIES Head coach Matt Figger was named Coach of the Feb. 24 Murray State • L, 73-64 The Series: This is the 48th meeting in a series that Year, while Taylor was named Freshman of the Year; Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship dates back to 1953; the Govs are 31-16 all-time. both he and Ugba were fi rst-team and All-Newcomer Evansville, Indiana Series Streak: Belmont has won the last two meetings honorees. March 1 vs Eastern Illinois W, 73-66 and nine of 10. • A win would put Austin Peay into the championship March 2 vs Belmont 9 p.m. Last Meeting: Belmont won at Curb Event Center, 83- game for the second time in three years, against the March 3 Championship 7 p.m. 59, Jan. 20, 2018. winner between Jacksonville State and Murray State. • - OVC Game That would tip at 7 p.m., Saturday. AUSTIN PEAY PROBABLE STARTERS TODAY’S BROADCASTS ipTV: OVC DIGITAL NETWORK Play-by-Play: Roy Philpott Analyst: Adrian Branch RADIO • GOVS SPORTS NETWORK (104.1 FM) Play-by-Play: Scott Chase Analyst: Eric Foister #1 #4 #21 #3 #24 Tre’ Dayton Terry Chris Averyl GOVS ON THE WEB Ivory Gumm Taylor Porter-Bunton Ugba Pts 4.0 Pts 10.7 Pts 14.9 Pts 7.6 Pts 15.2 LIVE STATISTCS PeayStats.com Reb 2.1 Reb 2.7 Reb 8.0 Reb 4.5 Reb 8.0 LIVE AUDIO Ast 3.8 Ast 2.0 Blk 1.0 Ast 1.8 Blk 1.1 http://tun.in/seqtU Stl 1.2 Stl 1.2 FG% 54% Stl 1.3 FG% 54% LIVE VIDEO A/TO 2.00 FG% 43% 3G% 44% FT% 73% FT% 69% watch.espn.com LETSGOPEAY.COM /LETSGOPEAY @LETSGOPEAY @LETSGOPEAY NOTING THE GAME ■ WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW VS. 2017-18 OPPONENTS Familiarity may not breed contempt, but it certainly raises the stakes in the semifi nal GOVS ALL-TIME matchup between the Govs and Belmont. Their OVC Tourney history together is brief but wild- Non-Conference -a 97-96 thriller in overtime in the 2016 semifi nals, which saw a last-gasp tip-in attempt from Alabama A&M 1-0 Craig Bradshaw waved off, touching off pandemonium in Municipal Auditorium. Bethel (Tenn.) 32-9 Bradshaw and Evan Bradds have moved on, but Rick Byrd’s team remains loaded. Dylan Evansville 7-18 Windler and Amanze Egekeze pace the attack, both hitting better than 50 percent from the fl oor, while table-setter Austin Luke is third all-time in OVC history with 660 assists. The Govs Illinois 1-4 will have to be mindful of the perimeter; Belmont is third nationally with 11.6 three-pointers Miami (Ohio) 1-1 per game, hitting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. Oakland City 8-0 DEEPER MEANINGS Oklahoma State 0-2 ■ Troy 4-0 WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN: Would advance the Govs to the OVC Championship Game UNC Asheville 1-1 for the second time in three years, eighth time since 2000 and 17th time in 38 total appear- Vanderbilt 2-15 ances since 1964... would be the Governors 19th victory in Figger’s fi rst season, the most by a Virginia 0-1 fi rst-year Austin Peay coach since Dave Aaron won 23 games in his 1946-47 debut campaign... would be the Governors sixth consecutive win in the OVC Tournament. Western Kentucky 14-40 WHAT A LOSS WOULD MEAN: Would eliminate the Govs from the OVC Tournament... would Conference be Austin Peay’s fi rst loss in the OVC Tournament since 2011... would be the Governors fi rst-ever Belmont 31-16 loss to Belmont in the OVC Tournament. Eastern Illinois 32-17 Eastern Kentucky 62-52 LAST TIME VERSUS BELMONT ■ Jacksonville State 20- 6 Despite a career-high 20 points from junior Steve Harris, thrust into a starting role thanks Morehead State 52-54 to illness, the Governors couldn’t counter a second-half three-point barrage in the Jan. 20 Murray State 43-87 contest, falling 83-59 at Curb Event Center. The Bruins were 9-of-13 from deep in the second half, with even a student hitting a halfcourt shot at the eight-minute media to earn tuition for SIU Edwardsville 9-4 a semester. Dylan Windler scored 31 for the hosts. Southeast Missouri 38-22 UT Martin 73-31 LAST TIME AT THE OVC TOURNAMENT ■ Tennessee State 46-30 You might recall the magical 2016 OVC Tournament, when the eighth-seeded Govs won Tennessee Tech 69-74 four games in four days against Tennessee Tech, Tennessee State, Belmont and UT Martin to stun the nation and capture Dave Loos’ fourth and fi nal OVC title. The Govs toppled the Golden Eagles in Round One, 92-72, rallied from a 19-point defi cit to stun Tennessee State, 74-72, in the quarterfi nals and played in one of the most epic contests in tournament history, a 97-96 overtime win against top-seeded Belmont that saw Tournament MVP Chris Horton VS. 2017-18 OPPONENTS post a 30-point, 16-rebound performance opposite OVC Player of the Year Evan Bradds. The Governors dispatched the Skyhawks in the championship game to cut the nets and advance MATT FIGGER ALL-TIME to the NCAA Tournament, where they would face top-seeded Kansas in Des Moines, Iowa.