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APSU Basketball’s Terry Taylor pours in 32 points in win over Southeast Missouri

APSU Men's BasketballClarksville, TN – Before the game, Austin Peay State University (APSU) men’s basketball team honored senior Terry Taylor for recently breaking the program’s career scoring record.

Austin Peay State University Men's Basketball senior Terry Taylor racks up 32 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday night win over Southeast Missouri at the Dunn Center. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay State University Men’s Basketball senior Terry Taylor racks up 32 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday night win over Southeast Missouri at the Dunn Center. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)

Taylor then went out and added 32 points to that tally in a 78-63 win against Southeast Missouri, Saturday, the latest in what has been a series of dominant performances during the lefty’s four years in Clarksville.

Enjoy the greatness; this caliber of player comes along once in a generation. 

Saturday, it was obvious from the start that this is one of the special nights Taylor will periodically create out of thin air that we’ll remember long after his time as a Gov has come to an end. In the first 10 minutes of action, the Govs led 21-10 and Taylor already had 15 points, coming on threes, and-one opportunities and second-chance clean-up jobs that opponents have found it hard to stop as the years have gone by.

Austin Peay State University Men's Basketball - Carlos Paez. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Informationo)A 10-0 Austin Peay State University run later in the first half, highlighted by a Carlos Paez three-point play, helped take the Govs into halftime with a comfortable 15-point lead at 42-27. Taylor racked up 23 in the half. It was all Govs, all the time.

And it would stay that way for most of the second half. Although there was a little of head coach Matt Figger‘s least-favorite phrase in there—”playing the score and not the opponent”—Austin Peay never saw its lead drop back into single digits at any point in the half and led by as much as 22 points after a highlight-reel dunk by Elton Walker at the halfway point.

2020-2021 APSU Men's Basketball - Tai'Reon Joseph. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)The APSU Govs would only hit three field goals in the final 10 minutes of the game—a layup from Taylor and a pair of Tai’Reon Joseph three-pointers—but Austin Peay State University’s ball-hawking defense stopped many Southeast Missouri possessions before they ever got fully going. The APSU Govs purloined 12 steals in the contest, its first outing with double-digits in the steal column since December 14th against McKendree.

Taylor finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds, numbers that look super-human until you do a little research and find that it’s the 10th time in his Austin Peay career he’s put up at least 30 points and 12 rebounds in the same game.

So basically, every 12 times Terry Taylor has put on an Austin Peay State University uniform, he’s put together one of the greatest performances of his or anyone else’s career.

 

The Difference

Austin Peay State University had Terry Taylor, which makes a pretty sizable difference in most contests. On a team level, the Govs harassed Southeast Missouri into 21 turnovers, while committing just 13 of their own.

That eight-possession difference mattered considerably given how comparable both teams shooting percentages were (44.6 percent for Southeast Missouri, 47.4 percent for the Govs.

APSU Notably

Austin Peay State University Men's Basketball - Mike Peak. (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)Austin Peay State University has won eight in a row against Southeast Missouri, the longest streak in the series for either team in program history.

With 24 points off turnover against the Redhawks, Austin Peay State University is now averaging 19.4 points off turnover over its last seven games. This game also marked the 25th time in a row the APSU Govs forced their opponents into at least 10 turnovers.

Austin Peay State University’s 24 free-throw attempts against the Redhawks equaled a season-high.

The Govs have posted 20 or more fastbreak points in back-to-back games after breaking 20 just once in the season’s first 19 outings.

Paez has now made 27 straight free throws dating back to January 2nd. He’s also at 49.0 percent (25-for-51) from three over his last 13 games.

The APSU Govs are 9-0 when outshooting their opponent and 9-0 when holding the opponent below 45 percent from the floor this season.

In addition to reaching double figures for the third straight game with 14 points, Joseph hauled in a career-high three steals.

APSU Men's Basketball - Terry Taylor (Robert Smith, APSU Sports Information)Austin Peay State University is now 10-0 this season when it holds an opponent below 70 points.

The APSU Govs have won the turnover battle four games in a row for the first time this season.

Mike Peake is at 63.2 percent (55-for-87) from the floor since the start of OVC play. He also scored his 200th point as an APSU Gov during the Southeast Missouri contest.

Milestone Watch—Career: Terry Taylor passed Doug Stamper (1961-64) and tied Jim Beshears (1959-62) for fifth all-time with 386 free-throws made.

Coaching Quotables with APSU Head Coach Matt Figger

On early effort and energy
“We came out and had a great shoot today. Our whole plan was to take them out of the rhythm of their sets. We did that for about 17 minutes of the first half; we’ve got guys sacrificing themselves and playing hurt right now and we’re trying to piece it together and get them some time.”

On Taylor
“They didn’t have an answer for him. All I have to do is keep dialing up plays for him.”

On gaining momentum
“We’re still trying to peak at the right time. I’d love to tell you that we’re going to get healthy but I don’t know if that’s going to happen. Our guys are giving it what they’ve got and I’m really happy for us to get another win. It’s been a weird, crazy year and we’ve only got two more chances here in the Dunn Center this year.”

 

Box Score

Southeast Missouri 63, Austin Peay 78

  1 2 F
Southeast Missouri 27 36 63
Austin Peay 42 36 78

Next Up For Austin Peay State University Men’s Basketball

Thanks to the conundrums that COVID-19 Coronavirus rescheduling has caused, the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team and Southeast Missouri will meet again Tuesday night at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00pm.

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