Austin Peay vs. Thomas More
Tuesday, November 1st, 2016 | 7:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University will get its exhibition season underway Tuesday when the Govs host Thomas More in a 7:00pm tilt at the Dunn Center.
The defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions, Austin Peay will bring in the Saints and Sewanee for the exhibition campaign before opening the 30-game regular season slate November 11th at Dayton.
It’s unquestionably Josh Robinson‘s team now—the junior from St. Louis, who was a preseason All-OVC pick last week at Media Day, runs the point and averaged 16.9 points a year ago.
Scouting the Saints
Thomas More went 17-11 last season and see the return of its top-seven scorers from a year ago. Fourth-year head coach Drew Cooper’s veteran-laden squad lived on limiting three-point shooting (33.6 percent opponent three-point shooting last season) and feeding junior Simon Clifford (14.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) down low; he had 19 points against the Govs a year ago.
Last Time Out Against Thomas More
Austin Peay handily dispatched the Saints with an 85-64 win in exhibition play last season. Williams (19 points) and Simon Clifford (10 points) were the only players in double figures for the Saints, while Chris Horton (21 points, 12 rebounds), Josh Robinson (18 points) and Jared Savage (15 points) led the way for the Govs, who shot 51.9 percent (27-for-52) from the floor.
Keep An Eye On
- Savage Season: After hitting a tournament-record 19 three-pointers at the OVC Tournament, sophomore Jared Savage is back for an encore. He had 15 points last season against the Saints, a sign of things to come for the talented Bowling Green native.
- Robinson’s House: Josh Robinson, firmly entrenched as point guard, will steer the ship in 2016-17 for the Govs; Austin Peay’s scoring average with Robinson at the point was 84.0 ppg, far outstripping its rate before he took command (74.2 ppg).
- Horton Gone: Unfortunately, there’s no manual for how to replace a legend who averaged 18.8 points and 12.0 rebounds last season, so Austin Peay will have to get by without the departed Horton, who was drafted by Grand Rapids of the NBA Development League, Sunday. Senior Kenny Jones (7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg) will be heavily relied upon, as will a cavalcade of faces old (Assane Diop, Chris Porter-Bunton) and new (Dre’Kalo Clayton).
- Firing Range: The Govs will have the green light in 2016-17; five returners attempted at least 25 three-pointers last season and Clayton was a 39-percent shooter from deep at Northwest Mississippi Junior College.
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).
