Clarksville, TN – Senior forward Terry Taylor reached a big milestone and Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team took home a massive 102-38 win in the home opener against Carver, Friday, in the Dunn Center.
But the main takeaway—aside from that the Govs can handle an NCCAA foe that already has large losses against Division I foes on its record—is Taylor achieving a hallowed mark: 2,000 career points, becoming one of three players in program history to reach that total and the 19th player in Ohio Valley Conference history.
And there’s still a lot of season to play—some big names in OVC history are going to have to move down a spot by the time he’s finished.
From the start, the game was Austin Peay State University’s—three straight Reginald Gee three-pointers blew the game wide open near the 12-minute mark and after that, it was all APSU. Such was the dominance of the Austin Peay State University offense that Carver did not post a run of back-to-back baskets without an APSU bucket until after the 16-minute mark in the second half.
That was mere minutes after Taylor entered immortality—with 18:44 to go in the half, he took an Alec Woodard pass from three-quarters of the court away and laid it in for two points, the 2000th and 2001st of his career. He would exit not long after that, game firmly in hand for the Govs, and with his streak of double-doubles now at six straight games.
In an early-season non-conference game that gets out of hand, it’s an optimal time to rest your stars, and head coach Matt Figger took advantage, getting 10 players at least 10 minutes of action. That also led to plenty of touches to go around, with Gee (career-high 20 points to lead all scorers) getting plenty of looks to lead six Govs in double figures.
The Difference
No one thing is going to stick out in a 64-point win, but since this section is here anyway, why not highlight a turnover discrepancy best described as “robust in Austin Peay State University’s favor?” The APSU Govs committed fewer turnovers for the game (13) than Carver committed in the second half (17); the Cougars finished with 29 turnovers for the contest.
APSU Notably
The APSU Govs have now won five straight home openers and eight of their last nine. The Govs have also scored 100-plus points in each of their last five home-opening wins.
Austin Peay State University put six players—Gee (20 points), Mike Peake (14), Elton Walker (13), Alec Woodard (12), Taylor (10) and Carlos Paez (10)—in double figures for the first time since Jan. 18 at UT Martin. Peake, Walker and Woodard each set career-highs as Governors.
- Gee, Woodard and Paez are the first trio since last season’s Oakland City contest to reach double figures off the bench for Austin Peay State University—which was also the last time APSU broke the century mark in team scoring.
Austin Peay State University’s first points have come via layup in all four games this season.
The APSU Govs are 3-1 or better to start the season for the first time since 2000.
The victory is APSU’s first on a Friday since December 21st, 2018 against Campbell.
The Govs held an opponent below 40 points for the first time since December 8th, 2018 (Calvary). Carver is the first home-opening opponent to score fewer than 40 points against the Govs since 2003 (Knoxville College).
Austin Peay State University has now won 17 straight games in the Dunn Center.
The last time Austin Peay State University posted 30-plus fast break points and 50-plus bench points in the same game was last season’s home opener against Oakland City.
Gee’s 20-point outing was his first as a Gov, and his first with five or more threes in an APSU uniform. He also scored his 100th point as a Governor.
Peake was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and nearly secured his first double-double as a Gov with eight boards.
Codey Bates, Jordan Burchfield and Ibrahima Jarjou saw their first action as Governors in 2020-21.
Milestone Watch: Terry Taylor took sole possession of third all-time in scoring, breaking his tie with Drake Reed; he also passed Reed for sixth all-time in field goal attempts (1422) He grabbed three offensive boards, putting him three away from 400 for his career, and he sits five total rebounds away from becoming the third player in program history with 1,000 boards and fifth player in OVC history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Coaching Quotables with APSU Head Coach Matt Figger
On mental preparation
“We weren’t mentally prepared in Florida from about the eight-minute mark in the Omaha game. I was looking for steps in maturity tonight.”
On getting Paez and Woodard going
“We needed Alec to see the ball go through the net, because he’s a catch-and-shoot guy, and he didn’t get any of that last week. I needed Chino to relax and slow down and not make the home run play every time.”
On defense
“I was pleased, for the most part. We had no real preparation for this team and went in with a blank slate, so we didn’t know anything they were doing. We held them under 30 percent shooting and we’ve got some rim protection we’ve been missing in the past.”
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 16 | 38 | |
| 54 | 48 | 102 |
Up Next for APSU Govs
On the schedule it says we’re due for the first of at least two meetings with archrival Murray State, set for a 7:30pm, Tuesday, December 8th tipoff Up North; in the time of COVID-19 Coronavirus, there is always a chance that will not come to fruition or something else will pop up first. Be sure to monitor LetsGoPeay.com and follow @AustinPeayMBB on Twitter for the latest updates.
