Eastern Kentucky Colonels vs. Austin Peay Governors
Saturday, February 22nd, 2014 | 7:30pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dave Aaron Arena/Dave Loos Court
Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay men’s basketball team (11-16, 5-8 OVC) take on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (18-9, 8-5 OVC) at the Dunn Center Saturday, at 7:30pm in the second part of a doubleheader. It is also Senior night.
In addition, the Governors also will salute Matt Hasse, former Govs center-turned-student assistant who sat out this season after chronic back problems ended his playing career.
Austin Peay Governors
The Governors enter the night tied with Southeast Missouri for eighth and the final Ohio Valley Conference tourney spot with identical 5-8 league marks.
APSU comes in after a heartbreaking 90-88 double-overtime loss at Morehead State, Wednesday, a game that saw the Govs take the final shot in both regulation and the first overtime.
Travis Betran matched his season high with 24 points against Morehead State while Ed Dyson made it six straight double-figure scoring games with 15.
Austin Peay leads the OVC and is 34th in the nation with 5.4 blocks per game.
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Eastern Kentucky has not played since defeating Jacksonville State, 86-65, a week ago on the road. The OVC East preseason favorites, the Colonels come into the game with an 18-9 overall record, 8-5 in the OVC—good enough for third in the East.
The Colonels have attempted 640 three pointers–231 more than the Governors–and have made 244 (38.1 percent).
Preseason All-OVC selections Glenn Cosey (18,7 ppg) and Corey Walden (13.3 ppg) have lived up to the preseason hype.
The Series
This is the 110th meeting between Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky, with the Govs holding a 60-49 advantage. The Governors lost last season’s only meeting, 93-51, in Richmond, with the defeat eliminating them from OVC postseason contention.
The Colonels have lost eight straight games in Clarksville.
What A Win Would Mean
It would make the Governors 12-16 heading into Thursday’s road game at Southeast Missouri…it would make the Govs 6-8 in the OVC…it would make the Govs 6-8 in 2014…it would even the Govs’ February mark at 3-3…the Govs would finish with a 9-5 home record…they would finish with a 5-3 OVC home record…they would improve the overall series record 61-49 against Eastern Kentucky…it would make Dave Loos 35-17 all-time against Eastern Kentucky…it would make Loos 12-6 all-time against Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer…it would be Dave Loos’ 466th career victory.
Giving Direction
With Damarius Smith still out with an ankle injury and Zavion Williams missing practice this week with a knee issue, Fred Garmon made his season’s second start.
He not only set a personal high for minutes played (42—his previous high was 18), but as well had single-game bests for points (nine) and rebounds (six).
Front Court Help
Junior forward Chris Freeman came off the bench against Morehead State to play a season-high 33 minutes, scoring nine points—the most points he has had since the Memphis game, November 14th, 2013.
Sophomore forward Preston Herring matched his season high with 16 minutes against Morehead State.
Above The Rim
Chris Horton’s five block effort against Morehead State was the 16th time this season the sophomore center has recorded three or more blocks and 32nd time in his career.
Media Center
Radio: Governors Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Greg Walker
Analyst: David Loos
WVRY 105.1-FM
www.letsgopeay.com
Television: Peay Nation Broadcasting
ipTV: OVCDN (OVC Digital Network)
Play-By-Play: Ethan Fisher-Schmidt
Analyst: Christian Hodges
