CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — (CLARKSVILLE) Matt Figger’s first victory as Austin Peay State University head men’s basketball coach came in convincing fashion. Figger’s Governor squad throttled Oakland City, 109-50, Wednesday night, with five Austin Peay players scoring in double figures, including a trio of freshmen.
The Govs came out firing and never looked back, pushing the lead to double digits by the 12-minute mark in the first half, but it was the second half that pushed the final score to stratospheric heights. Over the final 9:55 of regulation, the Governors outscored the Mighty Oaks 38-5, with freshmen Dayton Gumm (nine points) and Richard Henderson (eight) providing the bulk of the late-game offensive burst.
Gumm continued a torrid start to his Austin Peay career, and led a youth movement on a night which flashed the considerable potential of Austin Peay’s precociously talented roster. He led the all scorers with 25 points—marking three straight games the Govs have been led by a freshman—with Henderson (18) and Terry Taylor (13) among the freshman class joining him in double digits. Seniors Averyl Ugba (17 points) and Zach Glotta (14) also reached double figures.
One could reasonably point to a number of contributing factors, but in the end Austin Peay’s control of all things post-related won the day. Not only did the Govs outrebound Oakland City by 29 (50-21), but Austin Peay scored an incredible 70 points in the paint.
Coach Matt Figger talked about the game. “We’ve played four in the last nine days since last Tuesday. We prepared so much for Vandy and Virginia, and we knew they weren’t going to play any zone, so we hadn’t worked on zone offense much lately. So that’s on coaching,” Figger said.
Figger also had this to say about Dayton Gumm. “He’s just getting confidence. Being a freshman, he’s learning our system and what we need to do. He’s a different level athlete than anybody we have at the guard spot,” said Figger.