Racers continue dream season in OVC clash with Governors

Jan 7, 2012 - 4:01 PM Clarksville, TN (Sports Network) - The 19th-ranked Murray State Racers are one of the lone remaining undefeated teams in all of college basketball, and they will attempt to avoid an upset at the hands of the Austin Peay Governors tonight in Ohio Valley Conference action.

The most recent win for Murray State came on Wednesday in a 76-67 decision over Eastern Kentucky. The Racers are now 15-0 overall and carry a 6-0 record in true road games into this evening's affair. Also, they are 3-0 versus OVC competition.

As for Austin Peay, it has suffered three consecutive losses to drop to 3-12 overall and 0-2 in conference. The Governors were most recently in action on New Year's Eve when they dropped a four-point decision to Morehead State on the road.

With regard to the all-time series between these conference rivals, Murray State owns a 70-41 advantage over Austin Peay, which includes wins in three of the last four meetings.

Isaiah Canaan is the top offensive performer for Murray State this season, as he is netting 17.6 ppg on the strength of his 47.8 percent shooting from the field, More than just a scorer, Canaan is tops with 60 assists while placing second on the roster with his 23 steals. Donte Poole is generating 13.3 ppg, while Ivan Aska posts 12.6 ppg. The Racers are generating 75.2 ppg, far superior to the 59.5 ppg that they are permitting to opponents. Taking a look at the nine-point victory over Eastern Kentucky last time out, Poole posted 22 points to lead the charge, while Canaan and Ed Daniel registered 16 points apiece. Stacy Wilson scored 13 points for Murray state, which won despite a 35-26 rebounding disadvantage. Clearly a 20-15 edge in points from the foul line helped the cause.

There are three double-digit scorers on the Austin Peay roster, and TyShawn Edmondson paces the trio with 14.0 ppg. Josh Terry is close behind with his 13.2 ppg, and Melvin Baker provides 10.8 ppg and 6.7 rpg. The Governors are scoring 67.9 ppg while permitting 74.3 ppg to opponents. Taking a look at the four-point loss to Morehead State last time out, Austin Peay managed just 21 made fade goals in 40 minutes of action, and a 2-of-12 effort from the field certainly didn't help the cause. Terry was tremendous in that tilt, as he scored 24 points to go along with seven assists. As for Baker, he added 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor.