Austin Peay Govs vs. Jacksonville State Gamecocks
Saturday, February 17th, 2018 | 7:00pm
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s basketball will welcome defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion Jacksonville State to the Dunn Center, 7:00pm, Saturday, February 17th in a pivotal contest with far-reaching implications in the standings.
A victory would Austin Peay solid footing for a top-four spot with two games to go; it would put the Govs at 11 wins on the season and would give them a season sweep of the Gamecocks, who could do no better than a tie in the standings.
With Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State owning both tiebreakers against Austin Peay, a victory goes a long way toward keeping the Govs off the court in Evansville on the first day of competition at the OVC Tournament.
Saturday’s contest will be hold on Military Appreciation Day in the Dunn Center; Austin Peay will offer 300 complimentary tickets to the contests for military personnel with a valid identification.
These cannot be reserved in advance; they are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the doubleheader. Once the 300-ticket allotment is gone, additional tickets can be purchased for $3.00 with military identification (regularly $10.00-$15.00 each).
About the Jacksonville State Gamecocks
The defending OVC Tournament champion Gamecocks have put together another strong campaign in Ray Harper’s second season at the helm. Jacksonville State’s defense has been its hallmark; the Gamecocks surrender just 64.9 ppg, best in the Ohio Valley Conference, with opponents hitting just 40.2 percent from the floor this season, the 19th-best mark in the NCAA.
Jacksonville State protects the rim as well as any team in the league, with Christian Cunningham and Jason Burnell leading a unit averaging five blocks per game. The Gamecocks spread the ball around on offense, with six players averaging 7.0 ppg or better; when the game is on the line, look for preseason All-OVC pick Malcolm Drumwright (13.2 ppg) to have the ball.
Last Time Out Against Jacksonville State
Behind a mammoth performance from senior Averyl Ugba (35 points, 12 rebounds; 17 made field-goals tied for second-most in NCAA this season), the Govs rolled to an 87-67 win at Pete Mathews Coliseum–the largest margin of victory in the series since 2010.
The Govs shot a white-hot 61.1 percent from the field, ripping off a game-changing 27-3 run in the first half to put the game out of reach. The Governors offensive exploits were buffeted by junior Zach Glotta, who scored 20 points for the first time in his Asutin Peay career by hitting 5-of-7 from the floor and all six free-throw attempts while also dishing out six assists.
Keep An Eye On
Freshman Terry Taylor needs just five points to move into the top-five all-time in single-season scoring by an Austin Peay freshman.
A win would give Austin Peay back-to-back wins against Jacksonville State for the first time since winning 11 in a row from 2007-12, also giving the Govs a season sweep against the Gamecocks for the first time since 2011.
With 108 offensive rebounds, Taylor is tied with Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors and Rhode Island’s Jonathan Holton for 20th-most among NCAA freshmen since 2009-10.
Five Govs have reached double figures in scoring in back-to-back games.
Last time out against Jacksonville State, the Govs were held to a season-low one steal, while the Gamecocks seven turnovers were fewest by an Austin Peay opponent this season.
Junior Zach Glotta is averaging 13.8 ppg on 48.6 percent shooting over his last four games; he went for 20 points in his last outing against the Gamecocks.
Follow the 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 this game courtesy of StatBroadcast.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/letsgopeay).
