Golden Eagles visit Austin Peay in OVC opening round

Game Notes (PDF)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team had two fierce battles with Austin Peay during the regular season, and the two teams are set to meet one final time. The season will be on the line Tuesday night as the Golden Eagles and Governors do battle in the Dunn Center in opening round action of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Tech beat the Gov’s 94-90 in the Eblen Center on Jan. 21 before dropping a 77-72 overtime thriller in Clarksville on Feb. 18. The Golden Eagles earned the No. 6 seed in the OVC Tournament after finishing the regular season 8-10 in OVC play and 14-16 overall. Austin Peay finished third in the league with an 11-7 OVC record and 17-14 overall mark.

The Golden Eagles and Governors have done battle 132 times in history with APSU holding a 68-64 advantage in the all-time series.

Tech is led by sophomore Kevin Murphy, who is averaging 15.6 points per game. Murphy has scored in double figures in 27 of Tech’s 30 games this season, and has had seven 20-plus point performances. Senior Frank Davis is averaging 14.0 points per game for the Golden Eagles and is among the best 3-point shooters in the nation, hitting 46.0 percent of his outside shots. Senior Elijah Cunningham-Muhammad is chipping in with 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, and ranks second in the OVC in assists.

The Govs are led by Wes Channels and Anthony Campbell offensively. Channels is averaging 17.0 points per game and shooting 44.0 percent from 3-point distance, while Campbell is averaging 15.5 points per game and hitting 48.3 percent from the field. Austin Peay is 11-3 at home this season and finished third in the OVC standings at 11-7 in OVC play and 17-14 overall. APSU went 8-1 in OVC home contests. The Golden Eagles (1-4) and Govs (4-1) have each gone to overtime five times this season, including once with eachother.

Tuesday’s game will feature the two longest tenured coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference in Tech’s Mike Sutton and APSU’s Dave Loos. Sutton is in his eighth year at the helm of the Golden Eagles while Loos is in his 18th season as the head coach at Austin Peay.

The game will be the second half of a double-header with the Tech and Austin Peay women’s teams. Coincidentally, Tech’s men’s and women’s teams each finished with the No. 6 seed while Austin Peay’s men’s and women’s teams each earned the No. 3 seed.

All the action will be broadcast live on WHUB-AM 1400, teamline, and OVCsports.tv. To listen via teamline call 1-800-864-4700 (team code 0654) or visit teamline.cc.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will advance to the OVC semi-finals in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena (formerly the Sommet Center) and face the winner of Morehead State and Jacksonville State.