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HomeSportsAPSU Basketball plays Western Kentucky at the Dunn Center, Friday

APSU Basketball plays Western Kentucky at the Dunn Center, Friday

Austin Peay vs. Western Kentucky

Friday, December 22nd, 2017 | 7:00pm CT
Clarksville, TN | Dunn Center

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University men’s basketball will conclude the pre-Christmas and non-conference schedule in a rare 7:00pm Friday night tilt against Western Kentucky.

The Govs and Hilltoppers renew acquaintances for the 55th time since 1942, and 13th since Western Kentucky departed the conference in 1982.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball will host Western Kentucky Frida night at the Dunn Center. Tip off is at 7:00pm. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball will host Western Kentucky Frida night at the Dunn Center. Tip off is at 7:00pm. (APSU Sports Information)

Western Kentucky head coach Rick Stansbury is a familiar face in Clarksville, having served as an assistant from 1984-90, including the 1987 squad which beat Illinois in the NCAA Tournament opening round.

A trio of Austin Peay starters will certainly bring their A-games into this one; junior Chris Porter-Bunton and freshmen Terry Taylor and Dayton Gumm all hail from Bowling Green, home of the Hilltoppers. Porter-Bunton played against Western Kentucky in last season’s edition of the series, while Gumm and Taylor get their first crack at their hometown school.

About the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Western Kentucky HilltoppersA pair of graduate transfers have helped get Stansbury’s squad out to a 7-5 start. Darius Thompson (Virginia) leads the Hilltoppers in scoring at 13.6 ppg, while Dwight Coleby (Kansas) is posting 11.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest.

A balanced attack (six players average at least 9.8 ppg) predicated on quality shots (49.3 percent shooting from the floor) led Western Kentucky to six wins in its first eight games, but even as losers of three of their last, the Hilltoppers have been agonizingly close late in those games–a five-point loss at Ohio, a one-point defeat on the road at Wisconsin and a three-point defeat against Belmont, Tuesday.

Last Time Out Against Western Kentucky

Austin Peay shot 61.1 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent at the free-throw line, a minus-eight turnover differential and a late Western Kentucky run downed the Govs 97-92 in Bowling Green. Kenny Jones (15 points, nine boards) just missed a double-double, while Bowling Green native Porter-Bunton had nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Keep An Eye On

APSU Men's Basketball - Averyl UgbaA win would be APSU’s first at home against Western Kentucky since 1990 and would run the Governors home winning streak to five games—longest since the 2010-11 season.

A victory would give the Govs a .500 or better record in non-conference play for the first time since a 6-4 mark in the 2005-06 season.

Senior Averyl Ugba is averaging 12.8 ppg and 7.0 rpg over the last five games.

With Taylor (15.5 ppg) and Dayton Gumm (12.6) leading the Govs in scoring, Austin Peay is one of five Division I teams with freshmen owning the top-two spots in scoring.

APSU Men's Basketball - Dayton GummOnly Kentucky (whose top six scorers all are freshmen), Alabama, Houston Baptist and UTSA can boast the same claim.

Since the Virginia contest, Austin Peay now has a +52 turnover differential. The Govs tied their season-low with 11 turnovers against the Purple Aces.

Taylor remains the nation’s leading freshman in offensive rebounds per game (4.0, eighth overall); over his last three contests, the Bowling Green native is averaging 23.3 points and 6.7 rebounds, hitting 61.7 percent (29-of-47) from the floor.

Follow 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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