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HomeSportsAPSU Men's Basketball plays Spalding Saturday at Dunn Center

APSU Men’s Basketball plays Spalding Saturday at Dunn Center

Austin Peay vs. Spalding

Saturday, November 26th, 2016 | 7:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center

APSU Men's Basketball - Austin Peay State UniversityClarksville, TN – After a successful trip to Ohio last weekend, Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team finds itself back in the friendly confines of the Dunn Center for the second time in the regular season when the Govs host Spalding, 7:00pm, Saturday.

Austin Peay Basketball hosts Spalding at the Dunn Center Saturday night. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Basketball hosts Spalding at the Dunn Center Saturday night. (APSU Sports Information)

The Govs are in search of their best start since the 2008-09 season; a win would make Austin Peay 4-2 on the young campaign, equaling the best six-game start of the Dave Loos era (2000-01, 2002-03, 2008-09)—each of the previous three 4-2 starts occurred in a season where the Govs reached at least the OVC Championship game.

The Governors have the added advantage of bringing the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week, Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week and College Court Report Fan Vote Player of the Week into Saturday’s contest.

Junior guard Josh Robinson averaged 21.0 points on 47.5 percent shooting over four contests last week, adding in 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals in a stat sheet-filling week of work which included his 1,000th career point.

Fan can get $3.00 tickets in advance for Saturday’s contest by going to www.letsgopeay.com/sporttix and entering the promo code THANKS at checkout.

Scouting the Golden Eagles

Spalding has appeared in four of the last five SLIAC Championships under the direction of head coach Kevin Gray, now in his 17th season.  

Sophomore Dominique Ellis leads Spalding at 18.3 points per game, including 26 in the last contest against Centre, but the Golden Eagles mantra is defense; opponents are shooting below 40 percent for the season against Spalding, and Gray’s defense has hounded three-point shooters into an abysmal 24.0 percent (18-for-75) mark.

Summing Up the Tarkett Sports Classic

Robinson was Tournament MVP (22.3 ppg), Kenny Jones averaged a double-double (18.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg) and the Govs rolled to a 2-1 mark against Northern Kentucky, Miami and Delaware.

In the finale against the Blue Hens, Jones had career-highs in points (26) and rebounds (12), while Robinson scored his 1,000th career point and nailed the go-ahead bucket with 1.9 seconds left to lift APSU to victory.

Last Time Out Against Spalding

This will be the Governors first appearance against the Golden Eagles, and Austin Peay’s final first-time opponent on the 2016-17 schedule. The Govs are 2-1 against first-time opponents so far this season, with all three contests coming last weekend at the Tarkett Sports Classic.

Keep An Eye On

Milestone Watch
Loos needs five wins for 500 as a collegiate head coach, while Robinson is 11 made three-pointers from breaking into APSU’s top-10 all-time.

Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood
In addition to leading the conference in scoring (22.0 ppg), Robinson leads the way in minutes per game (36.8), tied for third in three-point field goals (3.0), tied for fifth in steals (1.8) and tied for eighth in assists (4.2) per game. Only Robinson and Murray State’s Jonathan Stark are currently in the league’s top-10 in scoring, three-pointers, steals and assists.

Board
The Govs keep finding ways to win despite being overrun on the boards. Last weekend, the Govs picked up two wins against Northern Kentucky and Delaware despite losing the battle of the boards by double-digits (11 to the Norse, 17 to the Blue Hens) in both contests.

It was the first time since 2013 Austin Peay won any contest when giving up such a sizable advantage on the glass.

Kenny Can’t Quit
After recording double-doubles in all three games last weekend, Kenny Jones is ninth in the country in double-doubles, one behind the nation’s leaders.

Turnover-Proof
After a season-low five turnovers against Delaware, the Govs are second in the OVC in average turnovers (11.4/g) and 38th nationally.

Heat Sheet
When John Murry heats up, it’s been hard for whole teams to keep pace with him. Against Northern Kentucky, Murry outscored the Norse 12-10 by himself over the final five minutes of play, while scoring all 15 of his points against Oakland City during a five-minute stretch that saw him outscore the Mighty Oaks 15-5.

APSU 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 www.LetsGoPeay.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/CultureofExcellence).

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