GAME NOTES: A pair of teams sporting identical 1-4 records get together on Thanksgiving Day as part of the Las Vegas Invitational, as the Austin Peay Governors do battle with the Brown Bears at Orleans Arena.

Austin Peay is hoping to put the brakes on a three-game slide in this contest, as the team has suffered defeats at the hands of Samford (68-67), Illinois (107-66) and Indiana State (61-57) since notching its only win over Berea College (68-63) on Nov. 16. The Govs' season opener against Western Kentucky resulted in a 77-70 setback. The losses to the Fighting Illini and Sycamores came during this event, which concludes on Friday.

Brown tipped off the 2014 campaign with a 70-58 triumph over visiting Saint Peter's, but came up short in the four games since, the most recent of which being an 89-68 loss at Illinois on Monday. The Bears also fell to Indiana State the game prior, 78-66, as part of the Las Vegas Invitational.

This bout marks the first meeting between Austin Peay and Brown in men's basketball, and both teams will be back in action on Friday taking on either Stephen F. Austin or Prairie View A&M, depending on the outcomes of Thursday's games.

Austin Peay has just two players averaging double figures in the scoring column, as Chris Freeman and Chris Horton are netting 13.8 and 13.2 ppg, respectively. As result of those rather pedestrian numbers, the team as a whole is putting up just 65.6 ppg, doing so by hitting only 40.2 percent of its field goal attempts, which includes a 30.4 percent showing from 3-point range. The team's defensive effort has resulted in foes scoring 75.2 ppg, thanks to 45.5 percent field goal efficiency and just over 40 percent from long distance.

Poor shooting once again doomed the Governors in Monday's matchup with Indiana State, as they hit just 34.9 percent of their total shots, with actually a slightly better rate coming from downtown (.400, 4-of-10). Ed Dyson was the only APSU player to score in double figures, as he tallied 15 points in playing nearly every minute. Horton paced the team's rebounding effort with 11 boards.

Brown too has had issues putting up large point totals this season, despite the presence of three double-digit scorers. Leland King leads the way with his 16.6 ppg, and he also heads the team's rebounding effort with 7.4 rpg. Cedric Kuakumensah and Rafael Maia are netting 10.4 and 10.0 ppg, respectively, for a team that is generating 65.0 ppg while permitting 74.8 ppg.

Steven Spieth was high man for the Bears in their recent loss to Illinois, as he went 7-of-10 from the field to finish with 21 points. Maia also hit for double figures with 13 points, but Brown converted only 5-of-17 3-point tries while watching as the Fighting Illini committed only seven turnovers, assisted on 17 of their 30 baskets, and made good on 48.4 percent of their total shots.

Clearly something has to give in this matchup of struggling squads. The edge goes to the Bears in what should be a close contest.