Utah State cagers can't look past little-known Austin Peay

LOGAN — Utah State basketball coach Stew Morrill issued a warning to his team and fans alike concerning tonight's opponent Austin Peay: Don't be fooled by the name.

"There used to be a name years ago that people didn't know much about and it's called Gonzaga" Morrill said. "Austin Peay has one of those names that's not affiliated with a state, but they are good."

The Governors (Austin Peay was the governor of Tennessee in the 1920s) won the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title and advanced to the OVC Tournament for the fourth time in five years.

This year they received 19 of 23 possible first-place votes to win the OVC again this season and Drake Reed, one of the Governors' five returning starters, was selected as the preseason player of the year.

"They are on a mission to get to the NCAA tournament," Morrill said, stating the Governors, who finished 21-12 last year, didn't receive an automatic bid after losing to Eastern Kentucky.

The game tips at 7 p.m. in the Smith Spectrum.

Fernandez Lockett (15.5), Reed (15.0) and Todd Babington (13.0) are averaging in double-figures after two games. In Austin Peay's 71-56 victory over Belmont, Wes Channels came off the bench and led the Governors with 19 points. Reed had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Lockett added 17 points and five boards.

"We can't just think that we are automatically going to win because we're at home," Morrill said.

Utah State has been good at home in recent years (only 12 losses in the Smith Spectrum under Morrill), but they are entering the game on a two-game losing streak.

"The one thing I would hope we would do us come out with some energy, play with some heart and play physical and be a little irritated at the world because we didn't play like we could on our last trip."

The Aggies, losers of three of its last four, fell to former Big West Conference foes Cal Poly, 83-69, and UC Irvine, 70-51.

In their latest loss to UC Irvine the Aggies shot just 36 percent from the field.

"We are coming off a couple of tough losses and we've got to really respond to have a chance in this ball game," Morrill said.

Jaycee Carroll leads the Aggies in scoring at 21.4 points a game, while Stephen DuCharme is averaging 11.8 and Gary Wilkinson chips in with 10.4 points.

The game is the second of four of the South Padre Island Invitational. The Aggies beat Montana-Western 77-58 eight days ago. Utah State will play Vanderbilt Friday and Iowa or Bradley on Saturday at the South Padre Island Invitational site in Texas.

Aggies on the air

Austin Peay (1-1) at Utah State (2-3)

Today, 7 p.m., Smith Spectrum

TV: None Radio: 610 AM (Logan), 1230 or 1320 AM (S.L.)

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E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com