JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Alan Huss cuts a sizable
figure. He showed equally sizable signs of relief when taking the podium after
Saturday’s semifinal.
Huss’s top-seeded Panthers had just staved off a strong
challenge from fourth-seeded Radford. Had Jarvis Moss not slipped at midcourt
when advancing the ball, the win may have been even less comfortable – or might
not have happened at all.
Instead, Huss could say this about his team advancing to its
first Big South championship contest of his tenure.
“We did enough.”
“Enough” for the Panthers meant placing four scorers in
double figures – three with ten apiece – and making free throws late to slither
past the Highlanders, 76-73, in Freedom Hall Saturday afternoon.
“We recognize that, at this time of the year, enough is all
it takes,” Huss said. “We were in a very similar situation a year ago and did
just enough to get beat. I’m proud of our guys for finding a way. We had some
adversity and some things that didn’t go our way. We kept fighting.”
The game had a very similar feel to the contest between the
two just over a month ago in Radford’s Dedmon Center, a 78-75 High Point
victory. Radford (20-13) snapped off a 7-0 run to turn an early one-point
deficit into a six-point lead at 15-9. After the Highlanders seized a
seven-point advantage, High Point (28-5) tore off a 10-0 burst of its own to
jump back ahead by three. The game remained within two possessions for the rest
of the first half, with High Point taking a 36-34 advantage to the break.
The constant push-and-pull persisted into the second half.
The sides traded buckets – and the lead – for the first five minutes of the
period. High Point finally wrestled away the lead with a four-minute swath,
using a 12-2 run to seize a 61-51 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in
the game. After Radford cut it to five on a pair of free throws, High Point
again expanded the lead back to double figures in a 22-second burst.
Radford had one final salvo to fire.
David Early – just as he had the day prior – knocked down a
pair of key free throws, then converted a bucket. Jarvis Moss then ripped a
triple in front of the bench that snipped the difference to just three with
4:37 remaining. High Point’s Juslin Bodo Bodo banked home a layup for the only
Panther basket over the final 6:37, putting the Panthers back ahead by five at
the 3:10 mark.
TJ NeSmith and Truth Harris would convert back-to-back
buckets for the Highlanders to slice the Panther lead to a perilous point at
72-71 with 2:03 remaining. After Radford forced a turnover it had the chance to
grab the lead off a forced turnover, but Early’s jumper spun off and Josiah
Harris was assessed a foul. Bobby Pettiford made both free throws and put High
Point back ahead, 74-71, with 23 seconds to play.
The Highlanders inched closer on the ensuing possession via
a Josiah Harris layup, but the clock achingly drained to nine seconds in the
process. Radford then fouled on the inbounds play after allowing six more
seconds to elapse. Kezza Giffa drained both free throw attempts to again give
High Point a three-point lead with just over three seconds left. Radford
inbounded the ball for one more try to tie it, but Moss hit a slick spot near
center court and crumbled to the deck.
“This is my fourth year as a head coach and this doesn’t get
easier,” Radford coach Darris Nichols said after the game. “The last game, when
you’ve got guys who’ve exhausted eligibility, this group is really special.
When you bring in 11 newcomers in this climate – some of them last year during
this time were sitting beside a water cooler and then they come in and have new
roles where they embrace, they step up, and they execute these roles. It’s a
really special group just to work with every day.”
“Yeah, we’re upset that we lost. I’m more upset that this
group will not be around each other every day again.”
High Point forward Kimani Hamilton led all scorers with 18
on the day, despite playing just over 27 minutes after collecting a third foul
early in the second half.
“I kind of like to play aggressively,” Hamilton said. “Coach
Huss always has to remind me to stay disciplined. I just try to take that in.”
“I would also say that we couldn’t have left him in there
with three a season ago. I think that shows his growth,” Huss added.
Hamilton and Pettiford were among the many Panthers who hit
key free throws late in the game. High Point hit 13-of-19 from the stripe, with
10 of those makes coming in 14 second-half tries.
“Pressure is just what humans make it,” Hamilton said. “You
can’t think about what you’re doing. You’ve just got to know the work you put
in and shoot the ball.”
The Highlanders finish with their second 20-win regular
season in Nichols’ four at the helm. The roster turnover for Nichols’ squad
from year to year was significant but paid clear dividends.
“It’s our evaluating those guys, having honest conversations
with them, and setting clear-cut expectations,” Nichols said. “I’m not in the
business of telling guys what they want to hear just to get them to come here,
because it’s not going to work out. By December, they’re going to be checked
out. Every year is different, but we’ve got the right guys.”
The Panthers were paced by Hamilton’s 18 on a 6-for-9 effort
from the field. Bodo Bodo, Giffa, and Pettiford all booked 10 each. The
Panthers shot 53.8 percent (28-for-52) and hit 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from
distance.
Radford had the duo of Truth Harris and Moss score 15
apiece. The pair combined to hit 14-of-21 from the floor. Early tallied 14 with
Josiah Harris adding 12. The Highlanders shot 57.1 percent (28-for-49) from the
deck and hit 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Radford hit 78.6
percent (11-for-14) of its free throws.
High Point now turns its attention to third-seeded Winthrop.
The Panthers and Eagles will square off for the first time in a Big South conference
championship for the first time since 2002. High Point has also reached the
28-win plateau in a season for the first time in its 26 seasons at the Division I level.
“This is what I came here for,” Pettiford said. “I came here
to join (Huss and Hamilton) and the rest of the guys. We’ve been talking about
this for a long time. We knew the team we had. Now all we’ve got to do is
finish it up.”
High Point fell last season on its home floor in the
conference semifinals. The Panthers enter Sunday with a different purpose.
“I would say just remembering the losses and turning the
losses into lessons learned,” Hamilton said. “We never want to feel like that
again. We’re going to leave it all (on the floor).”
The top-seeded Panthers and third-seeded Eagles square off Sunday
with a 12:02 (Eastern) tip time. Coverage of the game is slated for ESPN2.
#1 HIGH POINT 76, #4 RADFORD 73
RADFORD (20-13)
J. Harris 6-8 0-0 12, Gaines 1-2 0-0 2, T. Harris 5-13 3-4
15, Moss 6-8 0-0 15, Early 5-9 4-5 14, Maclin 1-2 0-0 2, NeSmith 3-3 2-3 8,
Yamazaki 1-4 2-2 5, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Sirtautas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-49 11-14 73.
HIGH POINT (28-5)
Hamilton 6-9 4-6 18, Bodo Bodo 4-6 2-4 10, Giffa 3-11 4-5
10, Johnston 1-3 0-0 3, Williams 2-5 1-2 6, Hildebrandt 0-0 0-0 0, Pettiford
4-8 2-2 10, Anderson 2-2 0-0 5, Thiam 3-4 0-0 7, Benham 2-3 0-0 5, Ibukunoluwa
1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-52 13-19 76.
Halftime: High Point 36-34. 3-Point
goals: High Point 7-15 (Hamilton 2-3, Giffa 0-3, Johnston 1-2, Williams
1-3, Anderson 1-1, Thiam 1-1, Benham 1-2), Radford 6-18 (T. Harris 2-7, Moss
3-5, Early 0-2, Maclin 0-1, Yamazaki 1-3). Fouled out: NA. Rebounds: High Point 29 (Bodo Bodo
9), Radford 21 (J. Harris/NeSmith 5). Total fouls: High Point 17,
Radford 16. Technicals: NA.
Points off turnovers: Radford 16, High Point 14. Points
in the paint: Radford 36, High Point 36. Second-chance
points: High Point 14, Radford 11. Fast-break
points: High Point 3, Radford 2. Bench
points: High Point 29, Radford 15.
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