APSU Men’s Basketball
Demember 2nd, 2010 • Show Me Center • Cape Girardeau, MO
Cape Girardeau, MO – Southeast Missouri may be off to a 0-6 start but Austin Peay State University knows all too well how difficult a challenge the Redhawks pose.
A year ago, the Redhawks finished 7-23 overall and 3-15 in the Ohio Valley Conference. But both games the Governors and SEMO played ended in overtime, with the Governors slipping out with victories each time in posting an 11-7 OVC mark.
Despite the winless start, the Redhawks seemingly are on track of becoming competitive once again in the OVC. Recently, SEMO traveled to Arkansas and played the Razorbacks to within 10 on the road.
Guard Anthony Allison (9.2 ppg) returns from last season’s team while a pair of newcomers are providing a lift. Nick Niemczyk, who was a juco teammate of Josh Terry at Three Rivers a year ago, is averaging 13.4 ppg while shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range. Meanwhile, 7-0 juco transfer center Zach House is averaging 5.2 rpg and almost two blocks per contest.
The Governors, meanwhile, must find a way to close out games. They blew a double-digit second-half lead against talented Oakland. They also saw a three-point lead in the final 20 seconds when the Golden Grizzlies banked in a three pointer to send the contest to overtime.
This is the Govs’ eighth game of a season-opening nine-game road trip, but the final two, this one at SEMO and Saturday’s at Eastern Illinois, are the most important.
It will be the first OVC contest for juco newcomers TyShwan Edmondson, Josh Terry and Melvin Baker. Edmondson was named to the Chicago Invitational Challenge after scoring double digits in all four contest, including 25 against Oakland. He is averaging 18.0 ppg, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor. He had nine steals over the final three games of the Chicago tourney.
Fellow junior Anthony Campbell, the 6-7 forward, is the Governors only other double-digit scorer, averaging 13.9 ppg, including a 24-point outing against Charleston Southern.
What You Should Know
The Series: This is the 43rd meeting between Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri, two Ohio Valley Conference foes, with APSU holding a 28-15 advantage. Austin Peay has won 9 of the last 10 meetings and 20 of the last 22 in the series, including a pair of overtime decisions a year ago– 76-71 in Clarksville and 71-68 in Cape Girardeau.
