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HomeSportsAPSU Men's Basketball opens season Tuesday against Oakland City at Dunn Center

APSU Men’s Basketball opens season Tuesday against Oakland City at Dunn Center

APSU Sports Information

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – Year Two of the Matt Figger era gets underway when Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s Basketball hosts Oakland City, 7:00pm, Tuesday night, November 6th, 2018 in the Dunn Center.

For the first time in recent memory, the Govs come in fresh, with no previous exhibition contests on their resume.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball hosts Oakland City at the Dunn Center Tuesday night to kick off 2018-19 season. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball hosts Oakland City at the Dunn Center Tuesday night to kick off 2018-19 season. (APSU Sports Information)

However, Austin Peay has in no way been idle, working diligently throughout the fall as they prepare to build on their semifinal appearance in last March’s Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament in Evansville, Indiana.

The second campaign led by Figger will feature two new starters to replace the departed Tre Ivory and Averyl Ugba, but the Govs return seven contributors from last season and will get early contributions from grad transfers Jabari McGhee and Jarrett Givens, true freshman Antwuan Butler and others as the season gets underway.

Scouting the Mighty Oaks

Dr. Mike Sandifar has established a National Christian College Athletic Association power at Oakland City, building a yearly national contender in southern Indiana.

The Mighty Oaks put up more than 90 points per contest a year ago and hit better than 50 percent from the floor; although as a Division II independent, the talent level may be different, veterans such as Logan Worthington are now seeing the Govs for a fourth time in their respective careers.

Last Time Out against Oakland City

The Governors put five players in double figures, including then-freshman Dayton Gumm, who became the first Austin Peay freshman to score 25 points in a game since 2011 with a game-high 25 against the Mighty Oaks in a 109-50 victory at the Dunn Center–the first of head coach Matt Figger‘s Austin Peay career.

The Govs tied a Dunn Center record with 31 assists and outrebounded Oakland City by 29 (50-21), while scoring 70 points in the paint.

Keep An Eye On

Last year, Terry Taylor became just the second freshman in program history to register 500-plus points in his first season (he finished with 530). A similar performance as a sophomore would make him just the fifth player in program history to need just two seasons to reach 1,000 career points, joining Howard Wright, Kenny Geralds, Lawrence Mitchell and Travis Betran.

For the first time since 2012, the Govs will travel out of the country for regular season contests as part of the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic in Montego Bay. It will be just the fifth regular-season appearance for Austin Peay outside the contiguous 48 states; the Govs also competed in Cancun, Mexico (2012), St. Thomas, Virgin Islands (2004), Anchorage, Alaska (2000) and Honolulu, Hawaii (1996), going 5-5 in those contests.

Sophomore Dayton Gumm reached double figures nine times in the final 15 games of his freshman season.

A victory would be the 20th of head coach Matt Figger‘s Austin Peay tenure, as well as Austin Peay’s sixth victory in its last seven home openers. The Govs are 11-7 in home openers since the turn of the century.

Senior Chris Porter-Bunton, the longest-tenured player on the squad, has an outside chance at reaching the 1,000-point barrier in his final campaign. At 607 points entering the season, he would need to average 12.7 points over the 31-game regular-season to reach the milestone. 

Tickets

Season ticket prices for the upcoming 20-date, 28-game home slate have been set to the structure indicated in the table below. No longer will Governors Club membership levels apply; a flat fee for the general public, as well as discounted admissions for faculty, staff and military, will streamline the ticketing system, alongside new ticketing partner Glitnir.

In addition, along each baseline sit 12 premium seats, 24 total, in a first-of-their kind courtside seating arrangement in the Dunn Center. This offering, unique among Ohio Valley Conference institutions, is the most immersive, close-to-the-action seat of any school in the league. If you want a better seat, you’ll have to earn a scholarship.

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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