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HomeSportsAustin Peay State University Basketball finishes season at Southeast Missouri Redhawks

Austin Peay State University Basketball finishes season at Southeast Missouri Redhawks

Austin Peay (10-19/6-9 OVC) at Southeast Missouri (14-16/9-6 OVC)

Saturday, February 25th, 2017 | 4:15pm CT
Cape Girardeau, MO | Show Me Center

APSU Men's Basketball - Austin Peay State UniversityClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team brings the 2016-17 season to a close with a trip to Southeast Missouri for a 4:15pm tipoff, Saturday, in the Show Me Center.

The Govs are hoping to spoil Southeast Missouri’s home finale, Saturday. The Govs seek their second straight win in the Show Me Center and want to send out seniors Kenny Jones, John Murry and Assane Diop on a high note. 

Austin Peay Men's Basketball looks to end season strong at Southeast Missouri, Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball looks to end season strong at Southeast Missouri, Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)

About the Southeast Missouri Redhawks

Southeast Missouri RedhawksPerennial All-OVC candidate Antonius Cleveland (16.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 spg, 55.8 shooting from the floor) and Freshman of the Year candidate Denzel Mahoney (14.0 ppg) have led a revival under Rick Ray in Cape Girardeau; in winning against Murray State Thursday night, the Redhawks earned their first sweep of the Racers in 74 years.

The Redhawks have struggled on the glass similar to Austin Peay (-3.8 rebound margin), but won the battle of the boards in the January 28th meeting, 33-30.

Summing Up the  UT Martin Skyhawks

APSU Men's Basketball - Josh RobinsonA late Skyhawk rally upended the Governors and knocked Austin Peay out of contention for the OVC Tournament in a 76-72 defeat at UT Martin.

Josh Robinson scored 21 points for the Govs, but Austin Peay faced a decided rebounding disadvantage (45-27) at the Elam Center.

Last Time Out Against Southeast Missouri

All five Govs scored in double figures but Austin Peay’s 32.0 percent shooting mark in the second half and a 47.6 percent clip by the Redhawks over the final 20 minutes saw Southeast Missouri post an 82-71 win in the Dunn Center, January 28th.

A trio of Govs–Jared Savage, John Murry and Kenny Jones–led the way for the Govs with 15 points each, with Jones’ nine boards putting him one rebound short of a double-double.

Keep An Eye On

APSU Men's Basketball - Assane DiopA win would be Austin Peay’s second straight in Cape Girardeau and would give the Govs back-to-back seasons with seven wins in the conference for the first time since 2012.

This will be the final collegiate contest for Kenny Jones, John Murry and Assane Diop.

Robinson needs just four points against the Redhawks to become the first Governor to average 20 for a season since Drake Reed (2008-09) and the fourth since the turn of the century–each of the previous three (Reed, Nick Stapleton and Trenton Hassell) went on to earn enshrinement in the APSU Athletics Hall of Fame.

APSU Men's Basketball - Kenny JonesHe’s also 20 points away from becoming the 12th player in Austin Peay history to score 1,500 career points.

In 17 of 29 games this season, senior Kenny Jones has shot at least 60 percent from the floor. He ranks fifth (58.8 percent) in the conference in shooting among qualified players.

John Murry (20.0 ppg) and Robinson (19.9) are the only set of teammates among the top-five in scoring during league play, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively.

This matchup features Murry (reigning OVC Player of the Week) squaring off against Freshman of the Week Denzel Mahoney of Southeast Missouri.

APSU Men's Basketball - John MurryMurry is averaging 20.0 ppg since the start of conference play, hitting 47.1 percent (97-for-206) from the floor and 78.6 percent (81-for-103) from the free-throw line.

Since the start of league play, Jared Savage has seven multi-steal games and ranks second behind only Tennessee State’s Tahjere McCall (1.7 spg). He’s averaging 10.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 1.7 spg (second in the league) in OVC play and he needs 12 points in the finale to have a double-figure scoring average for the season.

Southeast Missouri is 10-3 in the Show Me Center this season, with only one loss at home in OVC play (February 4th vs. Morehead State).

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 www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com

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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