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APSU Basketball hosts Tennessee State

Austin Peay (13-6 | 5-1 OVC) vs. Tennessee State (51-13 | 2-4 OVC) 

Thursday, January 24th, 2019 | 8:000pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – Finally, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team is back in the Dunn Center as they host Tennessee State, Thursday, January 23rd on Academic Appreciation Night. Tip off is set for 8:00pm.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball take on the Tennessee State Tigers at the Dunn Center, Thursday night. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball take on the Tennessee State Tigers at the Dunn Center, Thursday night. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay returns home after a four-game road trip owning a 5-1 mark in league play and as winners of nine of their last 11 contests dating back to November 29th.

On the strength of their strongest start in several years, the Govs are third in the league entering their second home weekend of the Ohio Valley Conference schedule.

In addition to the standard 100 complementary tickets available for military personnel at every home game, director of athletics Gerald Harrison has donated an additional 100 hundred free tickets for military personnel, federal government employees and their families for both doubleheaders at the Dunn Center this weekend.

About the Tennessee State Tigers

Whatever struggles they may have experienced in ball control (17.1 turnovers per game, ranked 345th nationally) and in staying out of foul trouble (dead last in the nation at 24.9 fouls per game), Tennessee State relentlessly hounds its opponents on defense; the Tigers secure 8.1 steals per game and force 16.4 turnovers, both among the highest rates in the league.

Similar to Eastern Illinois last week, a newcomer is doing much of the damage for Tennessee State in Ole Miss transfer Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey. He, along with Kamar McKnight–who scored a team-high 13 points in last year’s meeting with the Govs–combine to give first-year head coach Brian Collins a pair of lanky wings with experience to pressure the Governor ballhandlers on defense and create mismatches on offense.

APSU’s Last Time Out Against Tennessee State

Despite 16 points and 13 rebounds from Terry Taylor, the Governors sputtered on offense, shooting just 30.6 percent for the game in a 70-56 loss to the Tigers at the Gentry Center, January 18th, 2018.

Austin Peay hit just 10 shots from the floor over the final 20 minutes, with only Dayton Gumm (11 points) joining Taylor in double figures. The shooting woes were particularly acute from beyond the arc, as Austin Peay hit just 5-of-26 three-point attempts.

Keep An Eye On

A win would give the Govs a 6-1 start to league play for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

When leading at halftime this season, the Govs are 10-0, one of 16 Division I teams across the nation who are unbeaten with a halftime lead.

A victory would give the Govs a 6-0 start at home for the first time since 2005-06.

After breaking into the career top-10 last week, senior Zach Glotta is nine three-pointers away from passing Travis Betran (20012-14) for ninth all-time. He also needs just eight more attempts to pass Betran and move into the all-time top-10 for attempted three-pointers.

A loss would herald Austin Peay’s first three-game losing streak to Tennessee State since dropping four in a row from 1979-81.

The Govs have shot at least 40 percent from the floor in 16 straight games; Austin Peay’s last streak of 40 percent or better longer than 16 games was a 19-game streak to close out the 2013-14 season; the Govs went 7-12 during that stretch.

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 PeayStats.com, and all home games and Ohio Valley Conference games can be viewed on the ESPN+ app.

Postgame video interviews and other videos from around APSU Athletics can be found on our YouTube page (www.youtube.com/letsgopeay).

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