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Austin Peay State University Basketball hit the road to take on Western Kentucky

Austin Peay (1-0, 0-0) at Western Kentucky (1-0, 0-0)

Saturday, November 9th, 2019 | 3:00pm CT
Bowling Green, KY | E.A. Diddle Arena

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team hits the road for the first time in 2019-20, kicking off a three-game journey by traveling to Bowling Green, Kentucky to square off against Western Kentucky.

Austin Peay State University Men's Basketball heads to Bowling Green to play Western Kentucky in first road game of the season, Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Men’s Basketball heads to Bowling Green to play Western Kentucky in first road game of the season, Saturday. (APSU Sports Information)

A longtime Ohio Valley Conference rival, the series has continued intermittently since the Hilltoppers left the league in 1982.

This will be the 14th meeting between the two programs since then; while the Govs won three of the first four following Western Kentucky’s departure, they seek to snap a nine-game losing streak in the series in this contest.

This will be the first road, Division I vs. Division I test for a precocious freshman class for Austin Peay head coach Matt Figger; two of those young Govs—Jordyn Adams and Sam DeVault—reached double figures in the opener against Oakland City, while Carlos Paez tied Adams for the team lead with five assists against the Mighty Oaks.

About the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Western Kentucky HilltoppersFor Bowling Green native Terry Taylor, this will be a homecoming. He’ll line up against another Bowling Green native in Jared Savage who was an instrumental part of Austin Peay State University’s 2016 Ohio Valley Conference title team before departing the program for Western Kentucky.

The Hilltoppers were the preseason pick to win Conference USA, with Taveion Hollingsworth and Charles Bassey earning preseason All-CUSA recognition; Bassey, who toyed with the idea of declaring for the 2019 NBA Draft before removing his name from consideration, is on the preseason watch list for the Wooden Award, Naismith Award and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award; the former are national Player of the Year honors, while the latter recognizes the nation’s best center.

Last Time Out Against Western Kentucky

A difficult shooting night saw the Govs hit just 34.5 percent from the floor and have to contend with a game-ending 23-7 run by the Hilltoppers in a 72-55 Austin Peay State University loss in the Dunn Center, December 22nd, 2017. While Austin Peay State University’s reserves outscored Western Kentucky’s 24-1, the Hilltoppers outshot the Govs 60.7 percent to 28.6 percent in the second half, despite 11 points from Bowling Green native Terry Taylor.

Taveion Hollingsworth, who scored his 1000th career point in Western Kentucky’s 2019-20 opener against Tennessee Tech, scored 20 against the Govs as a gifted freshman in this meeting.

 

Keep An Eye On

A win would be Austin Peay State University’s first against Western Kentucky since 1999, and the Govs first in Bowling Green since 1987. The victory in 1987 is Austin Peay’s only road win in the series since Western Kentucky departed the conference after 1982.

Taylor needs nine field goals to pass Greg Franklin (1989-93) for 15th all-time in program history and three rebounds to pass Will Triggs (2010-14) for 14th in boards; he could also pass Triggs for 11th in blocks with two. With four offensive rebounds, he’ll pass Tommy Brown (1988-91) and move into the top-five all-time in career offensive rebounds.

A win would be both APSU’s first in the road opener since 2010-11 and give the Govs their first 2-0 start since that same 2010-11 campaign.

Jordyn Adams’ 20-point night in the opener against Oakland City was the highest-scoring opening appearance by an Austin Peay freshman since at least the turn of the century.

With a start Saturday, Taylor will move into the top-30 in Austin Peay history with 69 career starts.

Of the four APSU Govs who have earned OVC Preseason Player of the Year honors, Taylor is the only one who will have a chance to take on longtime rival Western Kentucky in the same season.

Tickets

Governors Courtside Seating returns for the 2019-20 season. Fans can contact the APSU Athletics Ticket Office for courtside seating availability and pricing. The VIPeay Hoops Experience, available to Black Tie Monocle Society members and above, also returns for 2019-20 after a successful debut last season.

For more information on joining the Governors in the Dunn Center this winter, to secure season tickets or to become involved with the Monocle Society, call 931.221.PEAY.

 

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. Regrettably, there will be radio coverage for this contest due to the Homecoming football game.

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