The All State

Josh Terry Averaged 11 points and 4.3 rounds per game in the
2011 season.

Tyshwan Edmonson Lead the 2010 season and was second in the OVC scoring with 17.1 ppg.

John Fraley Started all 34 games in 2011 season and was 4th in the OVC in rebounding.

» By MARLON SCOTT – mscott@my.apsu.edu

With the possible exception of Morehead’s head coach, Donnie Tyndall, all the OVC basketball head coaches are breathing a sigh of relief and rubbing their hands together in anticipation of a season without facing Kenneth Faried. This begs the question, “Who benefits the most with Faried in
the NBA?”

The answer is the APSU Govs.

On paper, it is easy to see why OVC coaches and sports information directors voted the Govs to win the 2011-12 OVC Championship.

The primary reasons the Govs are the favorites in the 2011-12 OVC Championship discussion are returning players, new faces to replace key losses
and depth.

“I think there is a lot of excitement about this basketball team. We figured we would be picked near the top and we think we are a good enough team to contend for the championship in a league where there are a number of really good teams,” said Govs head coach Dave Loos at the OVC Media Day in Nashville.

“It is a league now where you have to be ready to play every night or you are going to go home with a loss,” Loos said. “As I said, we are excited, the community is excited about this team. But as we all know, it is going to be settled on the floor, and we hope we are ready to make a run for it.”

In his 22nd year as head coach, Loos has a squad with experience and talent. This season’s lineup includes nine players from last season’s 20-win team.

The most significant loss to the Govs team was point guard Caleb Brown. Brown started all 34 games last season and led the team in free throws and assists. He also made 57 steals, second only to Terry and Edmonson.

The Govs also lost forward Marcel Williams and guard Tyrone Caldwell. Both Williams and Caldwell came off the bench averaging 10 minutes a game. They played on the team three years before transferring during the offseason.

Filling Brown’s position will be JuCo transfer Jerome Clyburn. Clyburn comes from Santé Fe Community College in his home state of Florida.

Backing up Clyburn will be freshman guard Herdie Lawrence. Lawrence played at Collins High School in Atlanta where he averaged 15.7 points and 4.8 assists per game.

Ready to jump into the frontcourt is Chris Freeman. Freeman averaged a double-double, 21 points and 12 rebounds, at Muhlenberg High School in Greenville, Ky.

The Govs will play two top 25 teams this season, California and Memphis. They will also participate in an ESPN Bracketbuster game for the ninth time this season.

“We appreciate the fact people have some respect for our program, but we also understand it’s where you finish, not where you start,” Loos said. “We will be driving that point home.” TAS

By MARLON SCOTT – mscott5@my.apsu.edu

The CMSU Mules came out kicking, but it was not enough to stop the Govs high-powered offense from overcoming a 12-point deficit and earn the 107-96 exhibition win.
This was the fifth time the two teams faced each other in an exhibition game. This win makes the Govs record against the Mules 4-1.
Six different Govs’ players scored double-digit points.

Senior Josh Terry led the team with 20 points. Fellow senior TyShwan Edmonson and junior Jerome Clyburn both scored 16 points. Senior John Fraley scored a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior Dominique Long led the Mules charge with 20 points. Long and the rest of the Mules squad lit up the court in the first half shooting 61 percent from the field. With less than three minutes remaining in the first half, they were up by 12 points. They maintained the lead and went into halftime ahead 57-49.
“What I was really thinking was hold on guys, they can’t keep shooting that well. Fortunately for us, that was true,” said Govs’ head coach Dave Loos. “ We did have to improve our defense, but I have to give them a lot of credit. They just shot lights out.”
The Mules cooled down and the Govs heated up in the second half. The Govs came out and outscored the Mules 11-7 to close the gap, 60-64. With 14:41 remaining in the game they took the 71-70 lead.
The two teams tied at 79, then the Govs went on a 6-2 run to take the lead. The Mules made one last push to get within a point, but the Govs kept them from regaining the lead the rest of the game. The Govs outscored the Mules 58-39 in the second half. They shot 65 percent from the field in the second half while the Mules dropped to just 39 percent.
“Coach emphasized they were a really good squad coming out and we can’t take this team lightly,” Terry said. “They are a pretty good ball club, but we wanted to come into the game and concentrate on what we know how to do and luckily it worked out for us.

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

Juniors Marcel Williams and Tyrone Caldwell will not be returning to the Govs basketball roster next season.
Williams, a 6-6 forward, will not have his scholarship renewed. In the 2010-11 season Williams played in a reserve role averaging 10.7 minutes and 1.8 points a game in 34 games. He started only one game and made 17 blocks for the season.
Williams came from Ocoee High School in Ocoee, Fla., and was redshirted as a freshman. He earned a starting spot in the beginning of his sophomore season, but was sent to the bench midway through the season.

Caldwell, a 6-foot guard, is reportedly planning to transfer for his final season of eligibility. He did not start any games this season. Caldwell backed up senior point guard Caleb Brown. He played in 34 games coming of the bench, averaging 10 minutes and 2.2 points a game.
Caldwell came to APSU from Clarksville High School and has battled for the starting point guard spot each season. Up until last season, he started at least 10 games. He produced 56 assists and made 21 steals last season.

Former Athletics Director Bob Brooks passed away in his sleep Tuesday, April 5, at his home in Tulsa, Okla. He served APSU from 1984-88 and brought in Lake Kelley as head basketball coach in 1986. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mary, two sons, two daughters and four grandchildren. See the next print edition for more information.

By ANTHONY SHINGLER | Senior Staff Writer
Boise State’s La Shard Anderson hit a last second shot to give the Broncos the win over the Govs in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational Tournament, 83-80.

The Govs finished the season 20-14 overall. They lose only one senior, point guard Caleb Brown.

Boise State advances to the second round where they will face Evansville.

The Govs played without their leading scorer, TyShwan Edmonson. Edmonson tore his posterior cruciate ligament during the OVC tournament quarterfinal game.

Brown opened the first half with a bang. He scored 22 points to help the Govs go into
halftime down only one point, 42-41, despite committing nine turnovers.

The Govs opened the second half with a 7-4 run to take a 48-44 lead. However, the Broncos did not let the Govs keep any lead very long.

The two teams tied the score four times in the second half. Govs guard Justin Blake made a 3-pointer that ignited a Govs’ 12-4 run. It established their biggest lead of the game, 78-71 with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

It was the Govs last run. The Broncos battled back to within one point with a minute left.

Anderson put the Broncos on top, 79-78, with a jumper in the paint as the clock wound down to the 40 second mark.

After the Govs last timeout, Brown drove the lane and scored his only second half points to give the Govs an 80-79 lead with 5.9 seconds left.

It appeared the Govs had won the game.

But on the ensuing inbounds, the Govs lost track of Anderson who dribbled the length of the court and hit a jumper with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.

After pulling down the rebound, the Govs called an illegal time out and were charged with a technical foul. The Broncos made the free throws for the 83-80 win.

The Broncos closed the game out on a 12-3 run.

The Govs shot 30-of-52 (53 percent) from the field, including 4-of-10 from three-point range.

Brown led the team with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting and
6-of-6 from the free throw line. Josh Terry earned a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. John Fraley finished with 9 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. Blake scored 11 and Will Triggs added nine points while grabbing seven rebounds.

By ANTHONY SHINGLER | Senior Staff Writer

It was a runaway train the entire game and the OVC 2010-11 Defensive Player of the Year, Kenneth Faried was the engineer.
Behind from tip off, the Govs played catch up to Morehead all night, but they could not derail the Eagles.

The Govs lost to the Morehead State Eagles 68-49 and were eliminated from the 2011 OVC Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament in the semifinal round.

The Govs finish the season 20-13 overall. Morehead State moved on to
play Tennessee Tech in the OVC Tournament Championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5, for the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Top-seeded Murray State will receive a berth in the NIT due to winning the regular-season conference title.

“I thought Morehead came out with a lot of energy early and we turned it over too much early against them,” said Govs head coach Dave Loos.

Morehead State opened the game on a 10-0 run before junior guard TyShwan Edmondson put the Govs on the board. The Eagles went into halftime with a 32-22 lead.

The closest the Govs got to the Eagles was 45-38 when senior guard Caleb Brown hit one-of-two free throws with 9 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game.

Demonte Harper led the Eagles with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Faried earned a double-double and almost earned a triple double. He scored 12 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked 8 shots.

“My favorite thing to do is rebound and my coaches believe in me,” Faried said. “I went out and played my heart out because I know any game can pop up and be my last.”

Gov sophomore guard Justin Blake led the team with 13 points coming of the bench. Brown and freshman forward Will Triggs both scored 7 points.

The Eagles topped the Govs across the stat line.

They made 26-of-58 (69 percent) field goals. The Govs were 17-of-54 (31.5 percent) from the floor, and 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from the free throw line.

The Eagles beat them to the boards 37-28 and also turned the ball over only 12 times compared to the Govs 17 turnovers.

The Govs 49 points was their lowest total of the season.

GOVS VS. EAGLES LIVE UPDATES

FINAL-Govs lose to Morehed State 68-49.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 63-43 to Morehead State with 3:01 left in the game.

Morehead State’s Demonte Harper lead all scorers with 22 points and Kenneth Faried has 10 points, 21 rebounds and eight blocked shots.

Justin Blake led the Govs with 13 points.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 49-38 to Morehead State with 7:26 left in the game. Justin Blake lead the Govs with 10 points.

Demonte Harper leads all scorers with 20 points, while Kenneth Faried has 10 points, 17 rebounds and seven block shots.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 44-35 to Morehead State with 11:21 left in the game. Justin Blake leads the Govs with eight points.

Morehead State’s Demonte Harper leads all scorers with 18 points including the last seven for the Eagles.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 37-26 with 15:14 left in the game. Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried is flirting with a triple-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks. Demonte Harper leads all scorers with 11 points.

The Govs John Fraley and Caleb Brown each have six points a piece.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 32-22 against Morehead State. Morehead State opened on a 10-0 run before the Govs scored a point. Demonte Harper leads the way for Morehead State with 10 points, Kenneth Faried has six points, eight rebounds and six blocks.

The Govs offensively are led by Caleb Brown with six points on two-of-four shooting. Justin Blake and Tyshwan Edmondson have five points a piece.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 24-15 to Morehead State with 3:59 left in the first half. Tyshwan Edmondson and Justin Blake leads the Govs with five points.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 18-10 to Morehead State with 7:58 left in the first half. Tyshwan Edmondson leads the Govs with five points. The Govs are three-of-12 from the field (25.0 percent).

UPDATE
The Govs are down 12-5 to Morehead State with 11:44 left in the first half. Tyshwan Edmondson has all five of the Govs points.

UPDATE
The Govs are down 8-0 to Morehead State with 16:56 left in the first half. Kenneth Faried leads the Eagles with four points.

Junior guard Tyshwan Edmondson is dressed out and participating in pregame warm ups with a knee brace on his right knee.