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 men’s basketball team opened its 2018-19 campaign with a resounding 114-53 thumping of Oakland City in the Dunn Center.
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 Tayloralley-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, Dec. 11, 2010.
Austin Peay’s early-season odyssey begins Friday with a trip to Starkville, Mississippi to take on SEC foe Mississippi State. The 6:30 p.m. contest will be aired on SEC Network+.
Courtesy of APSU Athletics