CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University's men's basketball teams hosts Lipscomb in a 4:15 p.m., Saturday game on Gary Mathews Court at F&M Bank Arena to begin a three-game homestand to conclude the 2023-24 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season.

Austin Peay (15-13, 8-5 ASUN) owns a conference-best five-game winning streak and currently sits in a three-way tie – with Lipscomb and North Florida – for third in the league standings with a trio of contests remaining.

The Governors are coming off their first unblemished road trip of the season with wins against Central Arkansas and North Alabama, Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

Dezi Jones earned his second-straight ASUN Newcomer of the Year and is averaging 23.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 47.1 and 54.2 percent from the field and three-point range, respectively. He scored 24.5 points, and 4.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game in the Govs wins against the Bears and Lions last week and has posted six 20-point performances during the league year thus far.

Ja'Monta Black has been lights-out from the perimeter this season

The Governors boast the ASUN's best scoring defense, allowing just 70.0 points per game, and also turn the ball over fewer than any team in the conference at 8.9, the seventh-best mark in the ASUN. 

Lipscomb (17-11, 8-5 ASUN) is coming off an 85-68 win against Central Arkansas, and has won four of its last five games dating back to a Feb. 3 win against Jacksonville.

The Bisons won the previous meeting between the two Volunteer State foes in a 91-77 Jan. 13 victory in Nashville to extend their winning streak in the rivalry to four-straight games. 

Will Pruitt leads the Bisons' active players – as the Bisons' true leading scorer Derrin Boyd suffered a season-ending injury earlier this month – entering the game with 13.6 points  and 5.8 rebounds per game. He has scored in double figures in seven of his last outings.

Special Promotions

• During Saturday's game, Austin Peay will induct six members into the Austin Peay Athletics Hall of Fame. That six-person class includes two people that were large parts of Governors' basketball in former center Chris Horton (2012-16) and trainer, Joni Johnson. Horton is widely regarded as the greatest center of all-time, while Johnson was the program's trainer from 2007 until her retirement in 2012.
• Tennova Healthcare will be giving away free t-shirts prior to tipoff.

Up Next

Austin Peay hosts longtime rival Eastern Kentucky in a 7 p.m., Wednesday contest at F&M Bank Arena. 

The Fastbreak

• Tied for third in the league standings, Austin Peay and Lipscomb meet for the 77th time in program history. 
• Austin Peay clinched its first-ever trip to the ASUN Men's Basketball Championship in last week's win at North Alabama last Saturday.
• The Governors lead the all-time series 40-36, but the Bisons have won four-straight and 11 of the last 12 meetings. 
• Austin Peay is on an ASUN-best five-game winning streak.
• Five Governors are averaging double-figure scoring through ASUN play, led by DeMarcus Sharp's 17.3 points per game and followed by Dezi Jones' 13.0 points per game.
• Jones has scored at least 20 points in three-straight games and six times overall through league action.
• Ja'Monta Black is eight three-pointers away from becoming Austin Peay's single-season three-point record holder. He currently has 95 triples – which is fourth in Division I.  The record currently is held by Todd Babington, who broke the record in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. 
• Isaac Haney is coming off a 32-point performance against North Alabama. Those 32 poitns are the second-most by a Governor this season, trailing only DeMarcus Sharp's 33 points against Sacramento State, Nov. 22, in the 2023 SoCal Challenge.
• The Governors are 10-1 when scoring at least 80 points and 8-0 when scoring at least 83.
• Austin Peay is 9-3 when making at least 10 three-pointers.
• Austin Peay's 90.1 home winning percentage is tied with Lipscomb and Jacksonville for the best in the ASUN.