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HomeSportsInstant Peay Play: APSU Govs basketball freshmen maturing into formidable group

Instant Peay Play: APSU Govs basketball freshmen maturing into formidable group

Instant Peay Play - APSU SportsClarksville, TN – While there was no question coming into the season the Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team would led by All-Ohio Valley Conference junior standout Terry Taylor, the Governors are also demonstrating that they have a group of freshmen that are starting to play into one of, if not, the best collection of freshmen in the conference.

Austin Peay State University Men's Basketball freshmen (Top: L to R) Jordyn Adams, Carlos Paez, Alec Woodard, (Bot: L to R) Pavle Djurisic and Sam DeVault. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Men’s Basketball freshmen (Top: L to R) Jordyn Adams, Carlos Paez, Alec Woodard, (Bot: L to R) Pavle Djurisic and Sam DeVault. (APSU Sports Information)

That was never more evident than in their come-from-behind victory versus Jacksonville State on Saturday, January 11th, 2020 when after getting down by as many as 19 points in the first half, saw this group of freshmen spearhead the Govs getting off the deck and back into the contest … one they would win, 71-67, to remain undefeated in conference play.

Leading this APSU freshman class for most of the season have been guards Jordyn Adams (Silsbee, TX) and Carlos Paez (Naguanagua, Venezuela), who currently 15.7 and 7.5 points respectively this season, with Adams leading the team in three-point field goals (23) and Paez leading the team in steals (25).

They are joined by guard Alec Woodard (Rutledge, GA) and forwards Pavle Djurisic (Podgorica, Montenegro) and Sam DeVault (Evansville, IN), who have all seen quality minutes this season, with Woodard and Djurisic being key components in the Govs comeback versus Jacksonville State, both on the offense and defensive ends of the floor.

And this has all been a part of the growing process that saw most of this group have to get battle tested early-on in the season with rash of injuries that befell the APSU Govs, including a season-ending injury to graduate guard transfer Reginald Gee just six games into the season, as well as sophomores Antwuan Butler and Matheus Silveira who have missed games this season.

This group of freshmen will continue to be counted on as the Governors (10-7, 4-0 OVC) continue through conference play with more and more teams looking to shutdown Taylor and force other players to beat them.

For the first two weeks of conference play they have answered the bell and stepped up to meet the challenge, with the Austin Peay State University Govs being one of only two teams not to have suffered a loss in conference play.

But there are still many hurdles yet to jump over in their final 14 conference games, with huge showdowns versus Belmont (February 8th) and Murray State (February 13th and 29th) still looming, as well as knowing any OVC contest will be a battle down to the final buzzer every night.

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