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HomeNewsAPSU Men's Basketball beats Oakland City handily, 114-53

APSU Men’s Basketball beats Oakland City handily, 114-53

APSU Sports Information

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – I believe they call that a statement game. Behind seven players in double figures and a lockdown second-half defensive performance, Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team opened its 2018-19 campaign with a resounding 114-53 thumping of Oakland City in the Dunn Center.

Austin Peay Men's Basketball dominates Oakland City at the Dunn Center Tuesday night. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Men’s Basketball dominates Oakland City at the Dunn Center Tuesday night. (APSU Sports Information)

Austin Peay dominated all facets of the game.

After trading buckets early on, the Govs broke the game open on a 14-0 first-half run punctuated by a Dayton Gumm-to-Terry Taylor alley-oop.

Over the final 2:05 of the half, a 14-2 Austin Peay burst took the Govs into the break up comfortably at 62-39.

For an Austin Peay team not—Gumm, Taylor and Zach Glotta excepted—well-known for their three-point prowess last year, the Govs did considerable damage beyond the arc in the first half. Glotta tied his career high with five threes, all in the first half, and was flanked by newcomer Jarrett Givens, who hit three off the bench as well. In fact, all nine of the Governors first-half three-pointers came from reserves—Glotta (five), Givens (three) and Ivan Cucak.

The Governors offensive prowess never waned in the second half, but the defense turned up to an incredible degree. Austin Peay held Oakland City to just 20.0 percent shooting from the floor over the final 20 minutes, including an 0-for-9 mark from beyond the arc, as a run-of-the-mill rout turned into a demolition the likes of which has rarely been seen on the Dunn Center floor.

The 61-point margin of victory was the largest for the Govs since a 112-52 win against Fontbonne, December 11th, 2010.

The Difference

Pick your poison. The Govs outscored the Mighty Oaks 29-4 on fast break points, 60-13 on bench points and an incredible 63-16 on points in the paint, but the real difference came in the second half.

That’s when Austin Peay outscored Oakland City 52-14—total—which included holding the Mighty Oaks without a bucket from the 12:03 mark until less than three minutes remained in the second half.

APSU Notably

The Govs won their ninth straight game against the Mighty Oaks. It also marked the third straight time the Govs scored more than 100 points against Oakland City.

Austin Peay has won six of its last seven home openers, and also picked up its first season-opening win since the 2013-14 campaign.

Five Govs—Antwuan Butler, Jabari McGhee, Jashaun Garrison, Matheus Silveira and Jarrett Givens—made their Austin Peay debut.

Cucak set career-highs in points (7), rebounds (5) and minutes (15) while hitting all three shots from the floor, including his second career three-pointer.

Gumm’s 10 assists made him the first Gov with 10 or more helpers in a single game since Damarius Smith (1/4/14).

The Govs hit 12 three-pointers as a team, most of the Matt Figger era and most since January 14th, 2017 at Eastern Illinois.

In picking up his first career double-double, Gumm (11 points, 10 assists) became the first Gov since Derek Wright (January 31st, 2008 against Murray State) to have a points-assists double-double. He’s now scored in double figures in 10 of his last 16 games.

Glotta equaled his career-high with five made three-pointers.

The seven Govs in double figures marked the first time at least six scored 10-plus points since January 25th, 2018 (Eastern Kentucky).

Off the bench, Richard Henderson, Jarrett Givens, Matheus Silveira and Zach Glotta each scored in double figures, the first time at least three Austin Peay reserves have scored in double figures since November 14th, 2016 (also against Oakland City).

Coaching Quotables with APSU Head Coach Matt Figger

On the players
“He (Dayton Gumm) played like a seasoned guy that has gotten some experience, him and Terry both. My concern was, how would Antwuan Butler handle after not playing in the scrimmages? Jabari McGhee hadn’t played college basketball in over a year. This was Jarrett Givens’ first game with us. I wanted to get those guys some playing time and get them in the flow.”

On not being victimized by last season’s success
“I tell our guys that we have to stay in the moment and be us every single day. We can’t look at the past, we can’t look to the future; we’ve got to control what’s in front of us. That’s all we’ve got; as human beings, that’s all you’ve got.”

On the immediate future
“We’re jumping right into it. We’re looking forward to facing the challenge in Starkville. Our biggest thing is that we can’t get caught up on the name in front of the jersey. We’ve got to do our thing and play ball and see what happens on Friday night.”

Up Next for the APSU Govs

Austin Peay’s early-season odyssey begins Friday with a trip to Starkville, Mississippi to take on SEC foe Mississippi State. The 6:30pm contest will be aired on SEC Network+.

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