Austin Peay's Will Triggs scored 16 points and the Governor's held off Samford for a 75-64 victory on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
The Governors built a 16-point first-half lead, but the Bulldogs battled back to cut the deficit to 51-46 with 11:24 to play. Samford would get no closer in Bennie Seltzer's coaching debut for the Bulldogs.
Austin Peay extended its lead back to double-digits and led 66-55 with 5:11 to play. The Governors then put the game away with a 9-1 run to tie their biggest lead of the contest, 75-57, with less than a minute to play.
Travis Betran and Anthony Campbell added 13 points each for Austin Peay. Chris Freeman finished with a double-double off the bench for the Governors with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman Tim Williams had a game-high 23 points to lead Samford.
