High Point wins back-to-back titles among family

High Point poses for photos after winning the Big South tournament Sunday. (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Maybe Jon Bon Jovi – of all people – said it best.

“It’s all the same. Only the names will change.”

Two seasons in Johnson City for the Big South tournament. Two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Two extra golden guests on the bus back to High Point.

If you ask the back-to-back champion Panthers – including tournament MVP Terry Anderson – they’ll tell you that last year and this year have more in common than they have differences.

“To be honest, I don’t feel any differences (between the teams),” Anderson said after the Panthers’ 91-76 victory over Winthrop Sunday at Freedom Hall. “(Last year’s team) are my brothers. (This year’s team) are my brothers. We’re all family.”

Family is a common thread at High Point. First-year head coach Flynn Clayman knows that more than anyone. His wife, Katie, is an assistant coach for the women’s team that also had a date with history Sunday night in the same building. Clayman’s family has grown while at High Point. The Panthers clearly want to keep Clayman in their family, giving him a five-year contract extension through the 2030-31 season earlier this year.

That’s not to say families don’t have their share of tough times. Earlier this season, transfer forward Cam Fletcher missed several games as part of what was described at the time as an “internal team issue”. While some wondered if Fletcher would be welcomed back to the family, the players in the locker room felt he never missed a moment.

Fletcher picked the biggest day of the season to have his biggest day of the season. The Xavier transfer scored 17 points and hauled in 19 boards, turning in a performance that sent everyone on press row scrambling for the Big South single-game record book.

Fletcher and Clayman embraced after the victory, just like family.

“That was a special moment,” Clayman said. “He’s so talented. He’s such a good guy. He really has been through a lot this year and in his college career. He’s had a lot of injuries. He’s had a lot of things not break his way.”

“Earlier this year, he made the decision that he was going to be about the team. I promised him that if you’re about the team, when it matters most, you’re going to be the best player on the floor. He’s the best player in the league, if you’re just talking talent. Tonight, he showed that. If you’re just getting down to the keys of the game, they would have killed us on the glass if Cam didn’t step up and do what he did, and we probably don’t win this game. I’m so proud of him that he got to do that in this moment.”

There’s also the new family member. Point guard Rob Martin, who transferred from Southeast Missouri after last season, was the league’s Newcomer of the Year and a member of the all-tournament team. Martin’s story also got its happy ending.

“I met with Flynn about two or three months ago, and we were just talking about my plan and my playing the right way,” Martin said. “I got a little emotional about it, because I thought I wasn’t playing the right way or leading the team like I should. That meeting really changed my perspective.”

That family member that always sacrifices for the rest of the family? He’s wearing purple, too.

Guard Chase Johnston has been through a college career marked by injuries, success, and now multiple NCAA trips. He learned from guards Trae Benham and Abdoulaye Thiam, two mainstays on last year’s championship team, of the value of giving of yourself for the gain of the family.

“First and foremost, I just want to give all the glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He’s the reason I’m able to sit up here and to be the servant I’m able to be,” Johnston said. “Laye and Trae kind of paved the way. I learned so much from Trae and his leadership last year. That’s my best friend and brother in Christ.”

“Yeah, it’s a different role (than last year). Flynn and I talked about it 11 games in, and is it hard to take that? For sure. When you’re part of something bigger than yourself and you have your eyes fixed on Jesus, you’re able to do things you never thought you could. I’m just so grateful to be sitting here. Words can’t express the gratitude I have right now.”

Anderson is the family member that sat at the head of the table Sunday. The 6-foot-6 guard scored 18 on 6-of-10 shooting despite battling foul trouble much of the day.

“I’m thankful to be here and I’m thankful for the award,” Anderson said. “It’s just a team effort. We all stuck together throughout the season.”

Clayman was not shy in his praise for Anderson.

“This is a special kid right here,” Clayman said. “I don’t know one teammate who doesn’t respect the heck out of him and I don’t know one person who’s ever coached him who doesn’t respect the heck out of him. He’s selfless. He gives everything he has. You see that in the way he plays. He’s a real underdog. He’s had to work his way up. He had no offers out of high school.”

“He has super high character. He could have had a negative attitude. He could have checked out. He could have done all those things. He stayed ready. He knew he was ready for the moment.”

So now, the entire family will load up the planes or buses and head off to another family reunion at the NCAA tournament. There will also likely be some extended family there, in the form of the loud, partisan fan group that packed the entire Panther side of the arena Sunday. They’re always welcome at the table, too.

“(The fanbase) gives us an extra bit of energy,” Clayman said. “When we blew the lead – we were up 13 and they came back and took the lead – your fans are right there to get you back going. In those moments, you could feel really lonely or feel like the sky is falling, and when you’ve got fans there who are supporting you like these guys were, you’re just thankful.”

“I’ve said since I’ve been here that I think we have some of the best fans in mid-major basketball. We could compete with some high-major schools,” Johnston added. “They don’t just show up for these three days (in the conference tournament). They show up throughout the year and sell it out. We’re so grateful for them, and they give us an edge in big games like this.”

Oh – and there’s one more family event to attend before any of that happens. Katie will also be going dancing if the Panthers can pull it off Sunday night against Radford. Flynn will, as one might imagine, be there to cheer her on.

“I’ll absolutely be staying (for the second game), because my wife is coaching,” Clayman said to laughter in the room. “If we had lost, I’d probably be hiding out in the top (of the arena), but now I get to kind of be comfortable and enjoy it.”

Winthrop makes statement in home win over High Point

 

Winthrop's Logan Duncomb led all scorers with 28 in Wednesday's win over High Point.  (Photo:  Winthrop Athletics)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – There’s an old saying that states that familiarity breeds contempt. If that’s the case, Winthrop fans had to feel quite contemptuous at the half of Wednesday night’s game with High Point.

Much like last year’s Big South championship game, Winthrop led big at the interval. The Eagles led by 24 – only for High Point to break off a 10-0 run to start the second stanza. It felt eerily similar to that game in the mountains just months ago – until it didn’t.

Winthrop righted the ship, punched out of its corner, or whatever sports terminology one prefers. The Eagles never allowed the league leaders any closer than 14 points in those final 20 minutes, getting 45 combined points from Logan Duncomb and Tommy Kamarad in a 92-75 victory before an announced crowd of 1,956 at Winthrop Coliseum.

High Point coach Flynn Clayman had quite a bit to say after the game, but one statement told the story.

“We’ve been cruising for a bruising, so to speak, and we got one today,” Clayman said.

Winthrop (12-8, 4-1 Big South) made a statement early and it grew louder throughout the game. The Eagles trailed, 5-4, after a Terry Anderson three with 17:48 to play. That would be the last time High Point held the lead.

Winthrop went on a 7-0 run to go ahead 11-5. High Point then cut it to three at 17-14 on an Anderson dunk with 11:45 left in the first half. Before anyone knew it, though, Winthrop had burst to a 32-16 lead. It then went to 39-16 following seven straight Duncomb points. High Point (16-4, 4-1) worked its way back inside 20 – cutting it to 19 – but trailed, 53-29, at the half.

“They certainly had a lot more (urgency and effort) than we did – at least in the first half,” Clayman said. “I thought the second half effort – okay, if we’re doing that both halves, we’ll probably have a good game with them. They just – quite frankly, if you go back to the game against Gardner-Webb, we were giving up open shots.”

“I thought they were a together unit that was locked in,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “I think that bore itself out in the first couple of (four-minute segments). They shared the basketball. It was just an unbelievable ride that they took us on for the last two hours. It was a lot of fun.”

High Point quickly sliced into the Winthrop advantage as the second period began. The Panthers took two-and-a-half minutes to cut it from 24 to 14, but Prosser elected not to use a stoppage. Instead, the Eagles continued to put foul pressure on the Panthers, hit their free throws, and essentially trade baskets with High Point for much of the second half. A pair of Rob Martin free throws again knifed it to 14 at 57-43, but Kody Clouet sank a three followed by a layup to stretch it back to 19 and largely squelch the Panther threat.

The Panthers got two bright spots off the bench in guard Chase Johnston and forward Josh Ibukunoluwa. Johnston knocked down a trio of triples to keep the Panthers competitive, while Ibukunoluwa hit 2-of-3 shots and hauled in four boards in 13 minutes of reserve duty while High Point battled foul trouble among its post players.

“With Chase, we weren’t shooting the ball well, and Chase has had some injuries, so we’ve gone with some longer, athletic guys,” Clayman said. “That basket was getting real dry. We knew he could knock down shots. I’m proud of Chase. He’s just stayed ready to play.”

“With (Ibukunoluwa), we started to go to some skilled big stuff in the second half, because we were really struggling offensively. That’s probably about as much as we’ve ever struggled offensively. He was kind of filling in with how we were using (forward) Owen (Aquino, who battled fouls).”

High Point shot just 39.3 percent (24-for-61) on the night. The Panthers recorded their third-lowest shooting percentage of the season, behind the 34.7 percent they knocked down in a loss to Appalachian State in December and the 39.1 percent they converted in their most recent game against Charleston Southern.

“This has been a growing problem and we’ve kind of escaped,” Clayman said. “(The Charleston Southern game) was the ultimate escape. We didn’t deserve to win that one. This was about as bad of a night as we’ve had. If we have another night like this, I’ll be very concerned. This group has shown an ability to respond.”

“This is kind of a first for us, quite frankly, to get smacked like that. We’re kind of processing it right now. I think we figured some things out in the second half that will maybe be nice to use the next time we see these guys. (Tonight), they just wanted it more than us.”

“People were making out of it – the opponent, whatever it is – if you compete for championships, you win league home games,” Prosser said. “It was a home league game, and it was the next one on the schedule. That was the goal, and that’s what we did.”

“The teams that win conference regular-season championships are the ones that differentiate themselves by winning on the road. We were able to do that last Saturday. It’s a huge challenge to go do that again (Saturday at Asheville). It’s a great win for us.”

Duncomb led three Eagles in double figures, booking 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting. The redshirt senior center knocked down 10-of-12 from the line and added six boards. Kamarad hit 5-of-6 to log 17 points and boarded seven misses. Clouet completed the trio of seniors in double figures, scoring 14 on 6-of-12 shooting. Winthrop shot 53.6 percent (30-for-65), adding 10 threes on 26 tries (38.5 percent). The Eagles shot 66.7 percent (22-for-33) from the line.

Anderson notched 17 to lead the Panthers, hitting 7-of-12 from the deck and 2-of-3 from the line. Guard Rob Martin added 14, with half of those points coming from the free throw line. Martin sank 3-of-7 from the field. High Point shot 24-of-61 (39.3 percent) from the field, hitting just 23.3 percent (7-of-30) from three. The three-point output was High Point’s second-lowest of the season, behind only a loss at UAB in which the Panthers shot 17.4 percent. High Point hit 71.4 percent (20-of-28) from the line.

Both teams resume league play Saturday. Winthrop travels to Kimmel Arena in Asheville to take on UNC Asheville. Game time is set for 2:00 (Eastern), with coverage on ESPN+. High Point returns to the Qubein Center in High Point to welcome USC Upstate. ESPN+ will handle the streaming coverage of the 7:00 start.

WINTHROP 92, HIGH POINT 75

HIGH POINT (16-4, 4-1 BIG SOUTH)

Anderson 7-12 2-3 17, Aquino 3-7 3-5 9, Hausen 1-7 2-2 5, Martin 3-7 7-8 14, Washington 2-6 0-0 5, Brady 0-2 0-0 0, Miller 2-3 1-2 5, Martinez 0-7 4-4 4, Johnston 3-6 0-0 9, Ibukunoluwa 2-3 0-0 4, Diallo 1-1 1-4 3, Singare 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-61 20-28 75.

WINTHROP (12-8, 4-1)

Duncomb 9-13 10-12 28, Wilson 0-1 1-2 1, Rozier 2-7 3-4 9, Berry 3-5 0-1 7, Clouet 5-12 0-2 14, Nnamoko 2-4 3-4 7, Hendawy 3-5 0-0 6, Kamarad 5-6 5-6 17, Meo 1-3 0-0 3, Boyogueno 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 30-56 22-33 92.

Halftime:  Winthrop 53-29. 3-Point goals:  Winthrop 10-26 (Wilson 0-1, Rozier 2-6, Berry 1-3, Clouet 4-9, Hendawy 0-2, Kamarad 2-3, Meo 1-2), High Point 7-30 (Anderson 1-4, Aquino 0-1, Hausen 1-6, Martin 1-3, Washington 1-4, Brady 0-1, Martinez 0-5, Johnston 3-6). Fouled out:  Wilson (WU).  Rebounds:  Winthrop 39 (Kamarad 7)), High Point 35 (Ibukunoluwa 5). Total fouls:  High Point 26, Winthrop 19. Technicals:  NA.

 

Inside the Numbers: La Salle at High Point

High Point guard Conrad Martinez had a career-best 24 points in the Panthers' 84-72 win over La Salle Friday.  (Photo:  High Point Athletics)

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HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Christmas spirit was unmistakable at the Qubein Center Friday night. From the ugly sweater worn by High Point’s mascot, Prowler, to the songs played during every stoppage in play and the array of decorative lights outside, the holiday mood was hard to avoid.

High Point gave its fans the gift they sought above all others – a big win over a quality opponent. The Panthers turned in a connected effort on both ends of the floor, draining 13 threes and playing stifling defense against La Salle in an 84-72 win.

You know what happened – now, let’s go Inside the Numbers:

• The most astonishing number on the night came courtesy of High Point’s defense. The Panthers took advantage of 12 Explorer miscues and converted them into 19 points -- according to the box score, at least -- on the offensive end. Given La Salle’s struggles in other aspects of the game, the number stood out to coach Darris Nichols.

“The way we started off, I thought we were on our way to 20 turnovers,” Nichols said. “We finished with 12, and if I could finish every game with 12 turnovers with this team, I’d be excited. A lot of it was that we went on runs when we got in the paint, we played off two feet, and we made the right decision. They went on runs when we went in there not on two and just jumped. That was the story of the game in the second half.”

• High Point, as we mentioned, knocked down 13 threes on the night. Guard Conrad Martinez was responsible for five of those triples, finishing with a career-best 24 points.

“A lot of it was the scouting report and attention to detail,” Nichols said. “You switch, and you’re on a different guy. You’ve got to know exactly what he does. You’ve got to think big picture and understand, okay, what does this guy do? I just switched onto him.”

“Some of the stuff they do – they get you into rotations and they really make shots. They’ve been doing that for the last few years.”

• High Point played the game without forward Cam’Ron Fletcher, who was reportedly absent due to the flu. The Panthers looked different, but played very connected basketball throughout. High Point dropped dimes on 15 of 25 buckets, spraying the ball to shooters or drivers. Fletcher’s absence was notable on the boards – La Salle outrebounded High Point, 32-29 – but the Panther bench contributed 38 points on the night and the home side swatted away five shots.
  
  
• La Salle had several opportunities to cut the game to a more manageable number, but struggled to string together stops. Simultaneously, the Explorers had prolonged dry offensive spells – including a 9:20 drought without a bucket in the first half – that made things tougher. Nichols spoke frankly of his own team’s struggles while crediting High Point’s play.

“The way (High Point plays) defensively, they’re heavy in the gaps,” Nichols said. “They make you pass it, so when they’re trying to make you pass and you don’t want to pass, you’re stagnant.”

“We showed (the team) how (High Point is) on film. We did a good job of it in spurts, but I think the one thing that was good in the first half was our getting to the bonus early. That was beneficial, but we just didn’t pass the ball.”

Additionally, the Explorers’ struggles on offense affected the defense when trying to quiet High Point and go on a run.

“I think our offense puts so much pressure on our defense,” Nichols said. “The decisions we make – we’ll go in there and turn the ball over or take an ill-advised shot, and that puts so much pressure on your defense, so you’re not going to get a stop.”

• Explorers guard Jaeden Marshall paced the team with 22 points, knocking down 6-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the line. Nichols offered an assessment on Marshall’s play.

“He scores when we move the ball better, and that’s the recipe. Like I told him, when you’re on the first page of the scouring report – maybe the top guy on the scouting report – a lot of times at the beginning of a game, you’re not going to get what you want because you’re the focal point.”

“You’ve got to get lost in the game, and I think tonight he kind of got lost in the game. He picked his moments to attack and did a good job playing off two feet and getting to the free throw line.”

• Nichols’ teams are known for their ability to get to the free throw line, and Friday was no exception. The Explorers took 32 trips to the line, hitting 26.

“I think that’s the main positive (from the game),” Nichols said. “I thought we had some different guys play harder and with more energy.”

• The Explorers have little time to focus on Friday’s result, as they will travel to Ann Arbor Saturday afternoon for a 4:00 start on Sunday against Michigan. Nichols emphasized after the game that his group would have to quickly turn the page.

“We gave them the truth (in the locker room),” Nichols said.

• Nichols also offered a pair of short, but direct comments.

On how the Explorers stopped High Point’s drivers:  “Not well enough.”

On what La Salle needs to do better immediately:  “Throw the ball to their teammates and defensively rebound.”

Martinez’s 24 paced the homestanding Panthers and all scorers, with the guard dropping 7-of-12 tries (5-of-9 from three) on a prolific shooting night. Forwards Braden Hausen and Owen Aquino supported with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Panthers connected on 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field, with an equal 48.1 percent (13-of-27) falling from three. High Point cashed in 75 percent of its tries (21-for-28) from the charity stripe.

Marshall guided the Explorers with 22. Freshman Ashton Walker poured in 14 and boarded six misses, with forward Josiah Harris scoring 12 and securing seven caroms. The visitors shot 43.8 percent (21-for-48) after shaking off a first-half effort in which they made just seven of 23 tries. The Explorers struggled with the three-ball, hitting just 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from distance. La Salle’s 26-for-32 effort from the free throw line was good for 81.3 percent.

High Point stays at home for an extended holiday celebration, welcoming Bryant to the Qubein Center Monday night. Game time is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with coverage planned for ESPN+.

Hustle Stats:

Points off turnovers:  High Point 19, La Salle 12

Points in the paint:  La Salle 30, High Point 22

Second-chance points:  High Point 13, La Salle 9

Fast-break points:  La Salle 12, High Point 10

Bench points:  High Point 38, La Salle 30

HIGH POINT 84, LA SALLE 72

LA SALLE (4-8)

Marshall 6-13 8-8 22, J. Harris 3-9 6-8 12, Acker 3-6 0-0 8, T. Harris 0-3 0-0 0, Beatty 0-0 0-0 0, Walker 3-6 8-9 14, Daniel 4-5 1-1 9, Dockery 1-4 3-4 5, Archer 1-1 0-2 2, Strand 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 26-32 72.

HIGH POINT (10-3)

Hausen 4-7 0-0 11, Aquino 3-4 3-4 10, Anderson 3-10 3-3 9, Martin 2-4 3-4 9, Washington 2-7 3-6 7, Martinez 7-12 5-5 24, Brady 1-4 4-4 6, Johnston 2-3 0-0 6, Miller 1-1 0-2 2, Singare 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 21-28 84.

Halftime:  High Point 35-29. 3-Point goals:  High Point 13-27 (Hausen 3-6, Aquino 1-1, Anderson 0-2, Martin 2-2, Washington 0-2, Martinez 5-9, Brady 0-2, Johnston 2-2), La Salle 4-11 (Marshall 2-5, Acker 2-3, T. Harris 0-2, Strand 0-1). Fouled out:  Dockery (LAS).  Rebounds:  La Salle 32 (J. Harris 7), High Point 29 (Aquino/Anderson 8). Total fouls:  La Salle 21, High Point 21 Technicals:  NA

Inside the Numbers: App State vs. High Point

 

App State's Eren Banks (4) and coach Dustin Kerns celebrate following Sunday's 86-78, overtime win over High Point in Hickory, N.C. (Photo:  App State Athletics)

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HICKORY, N.C. – App State coach Dustin Kerns summed up Sunday’s game with High Point with a somewhat apropos – if not mildly painful – descriptor.

“One of our themes with our team was that this (game) has got to be a bar fight,” Kerns said.

The first few minutes of the game featured App State bashing a chair or two over High Point’s collective heads, as the Mountaineers jumped out to a 16-2 lead. With 2:36 remaining, the Panthers had the black-and-gold dangling horizontally, ready to fire them into the parking lot like a cut scene from the movie Road House.

High Point guard Conrad Martinez put home a layup to – it seemed, anyway – warm up the buses for a ride back up the cold and windy mountain for App State at that 2:36 mark, putting the Panthers ahead, 68-60. App State wriggled free from the bouncers, though, throwing a flurry of 11 of the next 14 punches to even the score and force one final round.

In that final round, App State again borrowed from film lore and slid High Point down the bar one final time.

Kerns’ Mountaineers scored 15 points in the extra session, closing out a day where a pair of App State scorers logged career-highs and another just missed, delivering an 86-78 decision in Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Shuford Memorial Arena.

You know what happened. Now, it’s time to go…Inside the Numbers!

Three is key:  App State logged its season-high three-point total – against Division 1 foes, at least – by hitting 13 triples in 27 attempts. Guards Alonzo Dodd – more on him in a bit – and Eren Banks combined for nine of those threes on 17 tries.

“I think that was part of what they were willing to give up,” Kerns said. “We’ve got good shooters. We’ve seen our guys make shots, and credit to our guys for getting to catch-and-shoot (situations). We worked on some things offensively to maybe get some catch-and-shoots. I think they were willing to live with our shooting threes. Fortunately for us, we made them – and our free throws.”

Three is key, part 2:  Conversely, High Point took its season-high number of threes by far in trying 44 on the day. The Panthers’ prior season-high was 32 against Canisius. High Point sank just 11 of those tries. Kerns was mostly happy with the way that turned out for his side.

“Certainly, with (guard Chase) Johnston and (forward Braden) Hausen, those were two guys that we didn’t want to shoot threes,” Kerns said. “Everybody else, we did not want them to get to the paint. They want to get into the paint and they put themselves in great isolation basketball and rely on their talent – which they’ve got a lot of (talent). If you help, they’re going to kick it to a shooter.”

“We were content with – you can’t take it all way. We were content with trusting our contests on the ball with the other players. If they weren’t getting to the paint, it was hard for them to get fouled. I think they’re really good at drawing (fouls). Certainly with (Hausen and Johnston), we did not want those guys to shoot threes. They only shot 13 combined.”

The pair hit four of those 13 tries (30.8 percent).

Fletcher feeling it:  High Point forward Cam Fletcher recorded his fifth double-double of the 2025-26 campaign, scoring 10 points and snatching 10 boards. Fletcher turned in prior double-doubles against Furman, UAB, Incarnate Word, and Western Carolina. Fletcher’s 30 minutes of action were second only to Terry Anderson among High Point forwards.

Veteran presence:  Back to Dodd – he and App center Luke Wilson both had career-best days. Dodd booked 25 points on 5-for-9 from the deck (5-for-6 from three) and 10-for-12 from the line. Dodd also boarded seven misses and dished seven helpers. Wilson scored 19 and grabbed 10 caroms, recording his third double-double in a row. Guard Kasen Jennings narrowly missed a career-high of his own, tallying 21.

“The game of basketball rewards work. The magic is in the work, and some kids figure that out, and some kids don’t,” Kerns said. “Luke Wilson’s – we’ve been in exams, and he’s been in there on his own with the coaches getting extra work in every day. He is really – I think – addicted to how he’s playing, and so he’s fallen in love with the process of being good. The process is loving him back.”

“Those (Wilson and Dodd) are some older guys, and I just think they met the moment. I think they fed off the energy in the building. That energy helped them meet the moment.”

Dodd played much of the second half and overtime with four fouls after collecting his fourth with 10 minutes remaining in the game. The guard’s veteran presence proved indisposable down the stretch.

“This whole year – even last year – he left me in the game in key moments, so I know (Kerns) has confidence in me. I know my teammates have confidence in me,” Dodd said. “Just to go out there with that crowd with that noise and knowing (Kerns) trusts me – it just feels great knowing my teammates trust me to make the right plays. I shot some tough shots and they went in, but just knowing they have confidence in me brings my game to another level.”

Wilson turned in a series of key plays, including a baseline throw-in with just two seconds left on the shot clock. Wilson caught the inbounds pass heading toward the tin, banked home a bucket, and drew a foul. Wilson was quite emotional after the play, as he was much of the game. The intensity of the game helped motivate the Mountaineer big man.

“I always say in our individual meetings with the bigs that we’ve got the best big lineup in the country, in my opinion,” Wilson said. “We’re some dogs. That’s what dogs do – they talk their stuff. That just kept me hyped and kept me going.”

“My confidence is growing every single game, and knowing I can put up numbers like that every game, it comes with that. It means a lot. My coaches are staying with me in the gym, and I’m trying to push myself so I can be better for my team.”

Calm and creativity:  Jennings’ 21 were punctuated by a key take on the final Mountaineer possession of regulation. Following a missed free throw on the other end of the floor, Jennings attacked the tin from the right side and put home the game-tying bucket.

“We called a timeout to try to ice the free throw shooter (Conrad Martinez), who shoots 90 percent, but we also wanted to set up what we were doing, make or miss,” Kerns said. “We got the miss – and that wasn’t the play – but Kasen Jennings made a play. Sometimes, when you’ve got good players, you don’t have to run plays. Your players make plays. He saw an opportunity. I trust him.”

“That’s not the first time he’s done it, and he did it again. Credit him.”

Meaningful wins:  Kerns was happier with the win knowing it came against such a quality opponent.

“They’ve got a really well-coached, great program. They’ve got more than a team, they’ve got a great program,” Kerns said. “They’ve won two championships. The Big South’s a really good league, but I think High Point will be right there in contention to do it again and be in March Madness. We beat a great team, a well-coached team, and one that’s going to win a lot of games.”

Heading to Hickory:  App State will look to play more games in Hickory following the successes of this game and the contest between the Mountaineers and UNC Asheville two years ago.

“That’s something we are trying to do every other year is to play in Hickory, where we’ve got a campus and our great university is growing,” Kerns said. “This is a great area for us to play in, especially around the holidays. This was strategic to play in front of the Hickory crowd. I thought we had a great fan base and great energy. I thought (High Point) brought a lot of fans, and this was just a great atmosphere and great college basketball game. This was strategic, and hopefully we can be back here in a couple years.”

Totals:  Dodd’s 25 led all scorers for App State, with Jennings adding 21 on 8-of-13 shooting (3-of-5 from distance). Wilson’s 19 were accompanied by Banks’s 14. App State shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) on the day, hitting 48.1 percent (13-of-27) of their tries from distance. The Mountaineers sank 73.1 percent (19-for-26) of their attempts from the charity stripe.

High Point placed five scorers in double figures, guided by Anderson’s 17 on 6-for-13 shooting (3-for-7 from deep). Rob Martin scored 12, with Fletcher, Hausen, and Martinez contributing 10 apiece. High Point finished the day 26-for-75 (34.7 percent) from the field and 11-for-44 (25 percent) from three. The Panthers hit 15 of their 27 free throw tries (55 percent).

Next up:  High Point returns home to the Qubein Center in High Point, N.C., to take on the Fighting Squirrels of Mary Baldwin University Tuesday night. Game time is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with coverage over ESPN+. App State returns to the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C., to start Sun Belt play Thursday night against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. ESPN+ will handle the coverage of the 6:30 start.

Hustle Stats:

Points off turnovers:  High Point 17, App State 12

Points in the paint:  High Point 30, App State 22

Second-chance points:  High Point 9, App State 7

Fast-break points:  High Point 13, App State 8

Bench points:  High Point 28, App State 5

APP STATE 86, HIGH POINT 78 (OT)

HIGH POINT (8-3)

Anderson 6-13 2-4 17, Aquino 3-6 2-5 8, Fletcher 4-15 2-2 10, Martin 2-7 7-9 12, Johnston 1-4 0-0 3, Washington 2-6 0-0 6, Hausen 3-11 1-4 10, Singare 1-1 0-1 2, Martinez 4-12 1-2 10, Ibukunoluwa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-75 15-27 75.

APP STATE (7-5)

Marcus 1-4 0-0 2, Wilson 6-8 7-11 19, Dodd 5-9 10-12 25, Banks 5-15 0-0 14, Jennings 8-13 2-3 21, Moodie 1-3 0-0 2, Clarke 0-3 0-0 0, Njock 0-1 0-0 0, Tot 0-0 0-0 0, Brim 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 27-57 19-28 86.

Halftime:  App State 34-33. 3-Point goals:  App State 13-27 (Marcus 0-2, Dodd 5-6, Banks 4-11, Jennings 3-5, Clarke 0-1, Njock 0-1, Brim 1-1), High Point 11-44 (Anderson 3-7, Aquino 0-1, Fletcher 0-6, Martin 1-4, Johnston 1-4, Washington 2-6, Hausen 3-9, Martinez 1-7). Fouled out:  Martin (HPU), Aquino (HPU), Anderson (HPU), Marcus (ASU).  Rebounds:  High Point 45 (Fletcher 10), App State 45 (Wilson 10). Total fouls:  High Point 26, App State 20. Technicals:  NA.

 

'Thers Roll: High Point finds togetherness, leadership, and its first-ever NCAA tournament berth

High Point celebrates its first-ever Big South championship with a win over Winthrop Sunday.  (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Every season has its mileposts. For High Point, February 15 would be one of those mileposts.

I stood in the hall outside the High Point locker room waiting for High Point coach Alan Huss to emerge. He eventually did, wearing a purple High Point hat and a purple long-sleeved shirt – a far cry from the suits he usually dons for the Panther home and tournament games.

The result wasn’t all that notable – the Panthers had just drubbed Winthrop by 22 – but Huss’ words were. The Panthers had just played two nights prior, beating Longwood by 11 but not escaping the wrath of their coach. Huss aired out his team during that game with the Lancers but showed significant restraint when his Panthers struggled that day.

There was no hastily-burned 30-second stoppage. No fiery speech ever came. Instead, Huss let his team work through it. His words at the time set a tone.

“I felt like we just needed to re-center,” Huss said then. “We were not doing a good job of self-policing and re-centering as a group without the coaching staff. We just felt like we had to let them work through it. It’s a game of runs, but how are you going to respond? Are you able to go from whatever bad thing just happened to the next thing being a positive play?”

Huss then mentioned not using all his “verbal bullets” at one time.

Roughly a month later, Huss found himself in a similar quandary. His Panthers were down 10, 39-29, to the same Winthrop team in the Big South championship. Most probably expected Huss to help expedite a paint job in the Freedom Hall locker room. Instead…

“We talked about the progression of team and going from coach-fed to player-led,” Huss said after Sunday’s championship game. “The last 60 days or so, we’ve progressed into that space. Today at halftime, we were in a bad place. We were getting completely manhandled physically. We hadn’t attempted a free throw. They were the aggressor in every way, shape, and form.”

“Instead of me ranting and raving at halftime, I walked in to a group that was self-policing. They were talking about the processes that needed to be corrected and leading themselves to the space we needed to get to.”

Guard Abdoulaye Thiam was one of those who keyed the team concept. Thiam was a holdover from G.G. Smith’s staff, a transfer from Minnesota who started 65 of his 67 games in his first two years at High Point. The 6-foot-4 guard saw his scoring sliced by greater than half and his starts sliced further than that in his senior year. Don’t tell Huss that those minutes were any less valuable, though.

To go back to the previously-mentioned milepost, Thiam had a big day that day. The Panthers had a similar game with Winthrop that day as the one Sunday – a Winthrop run, a High Point run that broke the Eagles’ spirit, and a day to celebrate Thiam.

“I liked the way we won,” Huss said. “I liked the fact that we got punched and responded. I like that our bench stepped up and responded. I like that (Thiam), who’s done all the right things and has kept the right attitude – it touches you a little bit as a coach when the guys that handle things that way are the guys that finally get to have some success.”

Huss appeared to fight back a bit of emotion when speaking about Thiam after Sunday’s game.

“His progression is just as a man,” he shared. “He’s a guy that – the staff before me were playing really fast, and he had a total green light. He fought really hard that first year on what my vision for his game was and what he thought it was. He really came out of that.”

“He’s so much about the name on the front of that jersey, as much as or more so than anyone in our program. He cares about winning. He cares about the right things. He hasn’t complained about his role. He just shows up and goes to work. He never has a bad practice. He doesn’t take a day off. He doesn’t have a bad workout. He does everything as hard as he can possibly do it. For him to be maybe the most critical guy with his full-court defense today, it’s fitting. It makes sense. There’s not a lot I’m sure about right now, but that’s justice for that young man who’s battled so much. I’m so pleased for him.”

To be sure, the stars at High Point are the focal points. Guard Kezza Giffa made the all-Big South first team alongside forward Kimani Hamilton. Guard D’Maurian Williams and center Juslin Bodo Bodo were second-teamers. When it came time for the MVP award to be distributed, instead of one of those four decorated performers, one of those parts of Thiam’s bench crew stood next to Big South commissioner Sherika Montgomery and took photos with the award.

Guard Bobby Pettiford, who battled through injury all season and was part of the 49-point bench effort when High Point won at Winthrop in February, did himself one better – almost literally – on Sunday. Pettiford, who has been part of a national title team at Kansas and played at East Carolina before transferring to High Point, scored 17 of his team’s 50 bench points in the title tilt.

“I was going through a lot at the time and trying to figure some things out,” Pettiford said of the time after he committed to High Point. “They stuck with me and told me to keep being patient. Everything happened exactly how they said (it would).”

“There was a time over the summer when I really didn’t know what basketball was going to look like anymore. I had a couple surgeries and had to deal with some things. I’m just honored.”

“Bobby, since he’s been back and been healthy, I think he’s been the MVP of our entire season,” Huss said. “His unselfishness – his willingness to come off the bench and he never complains. His willingness to play minutes that go up and down and he never complains. This guy has won a national championship and was a top-whatever recruit. He played at Kansas. He’s played at Allen Fieldhouse. He’s played in the biggest games and on the biggest stages. He complained none. When you add those things and his unselfishness to his skillset, it makes him the most valuable piece of our team. He makes everyone better.”

As High Point advances to its first-ever NCAA Tournament – it had not even played for a berth in one in 21 seasons – Huss drew on the words of a former Panther great who was a part of several great High Point teams who never got this chance. Guard Derrell Edwards played in 62 games over two seasons for the Panthers between 2012 and 2014, and is now part of a NASCAR pit crew.

Huss invited Edwards to speak to the team. During that conversation, the significance of being the first was discussed.

“He’s an elite winner,” Huss said of Edwards. “He’s won at everything. He won a junior college national championship. He won his butt off at High Point. He’s just been a winner in NASCAR. Derrell is a guy who tells an unbelievable story. He’s talked to our guys over the past two years about being the first ever. We’ve borrowed those words. We’ve plagiarized them. We’ve reused them.”

“It hasn’t hit anybody on this stage. It certainly hasn’t hit me, the significance of all that. For all the people who showed up and supported us before we did the special things, it’s awesome for them. It’s something this group will never forget. I know our fans will never forget. I’m ecstatic for all involved. I love the fact that Derrell gave us those words. We were in dark moments. We weren’t playing very well and just having some bad moments in practice. We leaned on Derrell’s words a lot of times. Those really helped lead us forward and bring us back together when we started to fracture.”

Giffa’s words may join those of Edwards in summing up how special this season was for the Panthers.

“It’s just surreal for me right now,” Giffa said. “I’m just a kid from France who came here four years ago with a dream. I watched the NCAA Tournament when I was young. I never thought that I would be there one day. I just stayed down and worked really hard. I thank God every day for this opportunity, and I thank Coach Huss for believing in me and taking me under his wing. I don’t take that for granted. I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

High Point survives fierce Radford challenge, advances to Big South title game for first time since 2004

High Point's Kimani Hamilton (5) and Kezza Giffa (1) celebrate during Saturday's semifinal win.  (Photo:  Big South Conference)

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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.

 

 

Inside the Numbers: High Point at Winthrop

 

High Point forward Terry Anderson (0) had a stellar day for the Panthers in a Saturday victory.  (Photo:  High Point Athletics)

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ROCK HILL, S.C. – It’s not common for Winthrop to lose at home. It’s especially uncommon for the Eagles to lose by a significant margin at home.

High Point made a strong case for back-to-back Big South regular-season titles Saturday, shaking off short rest and a boisterous crowd in Winthrop Coliseum. The visiting Panthers logged four double-digit scorers and used two massive scoring runs to put away the Eagles, 88-66, before an announced crowd of 2,736.

“You’ve got to keep pace, and today, we weren’t able to,” Winthrop coach Mark Prosser said. “We haven’t lost in this building, so that’s not what we want. Obviously, this stings. We’ll be better on Monday. We’ll look at it and we’ll make the proper adjustments. Today, we just didn’t shoot the basketball well.”

You know what happened. To find out how it happened, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!

• Two of the biggest numbers in the game were somewhat related. Let’s start with the first and head to the last.

High Point center Juslin Bodo Bodo played 11 minutes. The dominant big man hauled in two boards and did not attempt a shot. Forward Kimani Hamilton played nine minutes. Preseason Big South Player of the Year Kezza Giffa played just over 17. The trio combined for 18 points – 16 of those from Giffa.

Conversely, forwards Terry Anderson and Josh Ibukunoluwa joined with guard Bobby Pettiford to score 35 points, snag 16 boards, and dish seven dimes. The High Point bench scored 49 points to Winthrop’s 13, keyed largely by the aforementioned trio. The edge was as large as 47-8 for the Panther reserves before a late flurry from the end of Winthrop’s bench.

I presented the question to High Point coach Alan Huss after the game of what he would have said if I’d told him before the game that this would be the scenario.

“I would have told you that you needed to have your head checked,” Huss said with a laugh. “We had an absolute plan to go deeper (into the bench) earlier, given the quick turnaround (High Point defeated Longwood at home Thursday night). For them to produce (like that), no way. Those guys are awesome.”

On the topic of Pettiford, Huss drew a comparison between him and Giffa.

“I wish I could play him more,” Huss said. “He’s terrific when he’s out there every game. He’s good defensively, he’s such a willing facilitator, and when you have talented players around him, having a guy that facilitates to the level he does, that’s so important. I think he’s the difference between our team and a lot of other teams. It’s the fact that we have that punch off the bench – a lot like Kezza gave us last year in a different way. He comes off the bench and he elevates what we do.”

Huss added a story about Anderson and Hamilton.

“The best part about it was that I had kind of gone over to Kimani and told him to get on the stationary bike and get ready, because he’s been a little nicked up. He came back to me and Terry had just gotten a bucket and a stop on the other end. Mani came right up to my ear and was like, ‘Coach, you’ve got to let him finish.’ You’re starting to get somewhere when your best player does that.”

• The bench numbers made Huss happy but not surprised.

“That’s what we thought we were going to be most of the year,” Huss said. “I played for Dana Altman in college, and that’s what we did. I was a boarding school coach forever and I had five spots, and there was usually a big drop-off (after the starters). The first year (at High Point), we had a big drop-off after our starters. Now, we’re kind of where we want to be. When you want to win big, you have to have a bench, so like on days like today when Bodo didn’t have it on a quick bounce-back and Kimani didn’t have it on a quick bounce-back, those guys are ready.”

• High Point had two significant runs after two significant events in the game. In the first half, Winthrop forward Kelton Talford was assessed his second foul and exited the game. The visiting Panthers tore off a 17-2 run after Talford’s exit. In the second half, Winthrop used a 13-2 run out of the locker room to snip the High Point advantage to one at 45-44. High Point again counterpunched, burying the Eagles with a 20-5 burst that largely put away the home side. Winthrop would cut that 16-point deficit by two but could draw no closer.

“If you look at the quality of their shots during the initial five minutes of both halves, they capitalized in the start of the second half and didn’t in the start of the first. Our level of play wasn’t high enough. To respond both times, that’s awesome. That’s what it’s about.”

“There was a lull in the first half where it went from a one-possession game to a three or four possession game,” Prosser said. “Then it was a one-possession game at the 16-minute mark and it turned into a four, five, 27-possession game or however it ended up. In critical moments, I thought we got some pretty good looks, We missed a couple front ends of one-and-ones at the free throw line that – those are big, game-changing – it gives energy to the opponents. We picked a poor time for that to happen today.”

• Talford and Winthrop guard Kasen Harrison combined for 33 points in the game. Harrison enjoyed early success in driving the paint, but the Panthers responded to space the floor a bit better defensively. Talford scored 12 and grabbed seven boards but struggled with a 2-for-8 performance from the free throw line.

“(Harrison’s) just too good – when you talk about either one of those guys, they’re so good as a tandem,” Huss said. “They know all the little details of screening angles, when to flip the screen, when they go under what to do, sealing the switch, offensive rebounding when they overcommit to Harrison. They have so much chemistry that you can’t just assign two bodies to that. When you give those two the middle third of the floor, you get what happened at our place a year ago. I think Kasen had a career-high and Talford may not have been far off. They just crushed us.

“There are just certain guys that you can’t play two-on-two against. Those two guys are certainly of that caliber.”

• Winthrop made just 2-of-21 from beyond the arc Saturday. This was the lowest performance from distance by an Eagle side in over three years, as Winthrop made just two against Radford in February of 2022.

“Our deal was to keep them in short close-outs. I thought we did a decent job of that,” Huss said. “I also think they missed some shots. It’s a make or miss game sometimes. I’d love to say it was all our defense, but we both know better. There’s some luck involved. We were lucky that they – that game could have gotten away from us in the first five minutes, because we gave them the looks they wanted. They probably didn’t finish some plays they’d like to have back.”

• High Point scored another sizable number in points off turnovers. The Panthers outpaced Winthrop, 21-4, in the category, helping flip around a number that has haunted High Point.

“We have a really hard time after turnovers and we have a really hard time after missed free throws,” Huss said. “We’re in the bottom five percent nationally in guarding in both of those situations. We’re not going a good enough job of self-policing and re-centering as a group without the coaching staff.

“(The four points off turnovers) is especially (significant) in this building. They’re a different defensive team here. They’re more active, they’re more aggressive, and they’re more physical. I thought that was the difference in the game.”

“I think we turned it over a lot trying to throw into the post today,” Prosser said. “KT’s an elite player and we’re going to make efforts to get him the basketball. We’ll see on film where they came from.  It felt like – and I know the final score doesn’t indicate it – we guarded them. For the vast majority of (the game) we guarded them.”

• Huss offered his assessment of his team after the game.

“I think we were good today,” Huss said. “I liked the way we won. I liked the fact that we got punched and responded. I like the fact that our bench stepped up. I like the fact that Laye Thiam, who’s done all the right things and was sick the other night and didn’t get to play – Terry’s been capable. He was one of our best players in the summertime. He had knee surgery and missed three months and has just been a shell of himself. It was just awesome for him, who’s kept the right attitude, and Laye Thiam, who’s kept the right attitude, just to watch those guys. It touches you a little bit as a coach when the guys who handle things that way are the ones that finally get to have some success. That was awesome.”

• One final nugget, courtesy of our great friend Brett Redden in the Winthrop sports information department. Saturday's contest featured the second-highest wins total of any game played in Division 1 basketball. Only Auburn and Alabama's 43 combined wins eclipsed High Point and Winthrop's combined 40 wins. 

Quick tempo numbers:

High Point:  1.239 PPP (71 trips), 54.9% scores, 8.5% turns, 46.3% shooting (31-67), 36% three-point shooting (9-25), 85% free throw shooting (17-20)

Winthrop:  .930 PPP (71 trips), 46.5% scores, 19.7% turns, 39.7% shooting (23-58), 9.5% three-point shooting (2-21), 64.3% free throw shooting (18-28)

Both teams resume play Wednesday. High Point hosts Charleston Southern at the Qubein Center, while Winthrop travels to the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C., to square off with Presbyterian. Both games are set for 7:00 tips, with streaming coverage over ESPN+.

HIGH POINT 88, WINTHROP 66

HIGH POINT (23-5, 11-2 BIG SOUTH)

Hamilton 0-3 2-2 2, Bodo Bodo 0-0 0-0 0, Giffa 5-8 4-5 16, Johnston 2-6 0-0 6, Williams 4-9 5-5 15, Anderson 6-10 2-4 14, Pettiford 4-7 0-0 8, Hildebrandt 1-3 2-2 4, Benham 0-2 0-0 0, Thiam 3-8 0-0 8, Ibukunoluwa 5-8 2-2 13, Sargiunas 0-2 0-0 0, Irving 0-0 0-0 0, Carney 0-0 0-0 0, Sineway 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 31-67 17-20 88.

WINTHROP (18-10, 8-5)

Talford 5-8 2-8 12, Doucet 2-7 2-3 7, Kamarad 2-4 0-0 4, Johnson 2-9 5-6 9, Harrison 7-14 7-8 21, Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 2-7 1-2 6, Baker 0-2 0-0 0, Duncomb 1-1 1-1 3, Diallo 2-3 0-0 4, Van Bibber 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 16-19 78.

Halftime:  High Point 43-31. 3-Point goals:  High Point 9-25 (Giffa 2-4, Johnston 2-6, Williams 2-2, Anderson 0-2, Hildebrandt 0-2, Benham 0-1, Thiam 2-6, Ibukunoluwa 1-2), Winthrop 2-21 (Doucet 1-3, Kamarad 0-2, Johnson 0-5, Harrison 0-1, Wilson 0-1, Jones 1-6, Baker 0-2, Van Bibber 0-1). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  Winthrop 40 (Talford 7), High Point 37 (Ibukunoluwa 8). Total fouls:  High Point 23, Winthrop 19. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  High Point 21, Winthrop 4.  Points in the paint:  High Point 44, Winthrop 42. Second-chance points:  High Point 11, Winthrop 11.  Fast-break points:  Winthrop 13, High Point 9.  Bench points:  High Point 49, Winthrop 13.

Inside the Numbers: High Point at Presbyterian

 

High Point's D'Maurian Williams paced the Panthers' winning effort with 20 points Saturday. (Photo:  High Point Athletics)

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CLINTON, S.C. – One week ago – and with several days to prepare – High Point coach Alan Huss referred to Presbyterian as “complex.” This may not seem to be much of a compliment, but when somebody like Huss who is so attentive to detail – and so much of a basketball “head” – says it, the intent is clear.

So, after Huss’ Panthers made the trip to Clinton and spent 40 minutes exchanging pleasantries in an 84-72 victory, what exactly did he mean by “complex”? Let’s ask, as we go…Inside the Numbers!

“Radford a year ago ran a lot of the same stuff (as Presbyterian) that a lot of people ran years ago. A lot of the stuff they run is stuff we ran when I was playing,” Huss said. “They have new, modern wrinkles on it is probably how I’d say it. They give you a look and they try to exploit it. They went with a big-big lineup tonight and they tried to exploit those 1-4 switches, off-ball, sealing at the rim, slip you a little bit.

“You have to deal with all that and then you have to deal with a dynamic player in Mincy in on-ball actions. They’re hard. They’re hard to deal with. You don’t ever really get comfortable, because a lot of what you guard is not what you guard the rest of the season. They’re pretty good at the stuff everybody else is doing, too. The slot-ball screen stuff with Mincy is really tough to deal with, too. (Presbyterian coach Quinton Ferrell) does a good job of just picking on whatever matchup they think they can exploit. Especially when (guard) Kezza (Giffa) got into a little bit of foul trouble, I think it took the teeth out of him a little bit. You can probably say that for (forward) Kimani (Hamilton), too. It took the teeth out of what we were doing a little bit in those switches. I don’t want to make excuses. It was effective – doing what they did was effective. It was hard to deal with.”

• High Point had two unsustainable numbers Saturday. One went in its favor and the other did not. The second number got a bit of a disappointed laugh and head shake from Huss. Let’s start with that one.

Presbyterian snared a somewhat unbelievable 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points. Eight of those boards came from post players Kaleb Scott and Jaylen Peterson. Huss was – as one might imagine – not enamored of that number.

“We were good and we had one bad stretch at the end of the first half,” Huss said. “They got three in two possessions. We came back to start the second half, and – more than anything, I think we’ve got to toughen up. They went big-big. It’s a give-and-take deal. Their bigger guys had a hard time guarding our thin and elusive guys on the perimeter facing them in our space. Our guys had a hard time rebounding. It was a battle of those two styles of play.

“The ones that were disappointing were the ones where we just didn’t have our hands up or it was a straight 50-50 ball and they were the aggressor. I thought they outcompeted us for probably 26 of the 40 minutes today. That’s the disappointing piece.”

“We had to really jump our guys in the first half,” Ferrell said. “We were watching guys shoot the ball and I’ve got my three and my four not crashing the glass. Why does it take us to go crazy and lose our mind to get us to do that? Why don’t we show up from the opening tap? I think that’s been some of our issues. If we had the effort we had in the second half, it’s obviously a different game. We dug ourselves – they’re really good. They don’t need a 15-point lead at the half. They don’t need any help. For us to be down 15 and cut it to one in the second half, it shows the potential of my group, but obviously to get over the hump, you’ve got to be more consistent during the 40 minutes of the game.”

• The other unsustainable number came from High Point’s first-half offensive performance. The Panthers shot 71 percent in the opening 20, and though their final shooting percentage was 60.4, mentioning the hot shooting also drew a laugh from Huss before he reflected a bit.

“I was disappointed – obviously that’s not sustainable. We all knew that,” Huss said. “The piece that was a little bit disappointing was how they (got back into the game). That’s precisely what we talked about at halftime. They’re going to turn up the heat a little bit in the half court and the full court. They’re going to put their hands on us. They’re going to be a little bit more aggressive. I just thought we had some really soft turnovers to start the (second) half that really got them going offensively. Credit to them for doing it, but it was just a little disappointing because that was the entire halftime speech. Clearly, I’ve got to improve my delivery.”

“I thought in the first half the ball stuck too much,” Ferrell said. “That was something that I really got onto my guys about. We’ve got breakdown basketball where we’ve got different things that we do, and we weren’t doing it. Whoever had the ball just kept it. Everybody else was just standing. Switching defenses can do that to you if you’re not intentional about running your offense and doing different things to combat that and attack that. I thought in the second half we were much better. That’s why we scored 41 points and we won the second half. I just thought that in the first half, we gave away a few possessions just by our own doing of not moving the ball, cutting, setting ball screens, slipping out, and doing the different things we worked on.”

• Presbyterian – yet again – fought back from a deficit and was right in the game at the under-4 break before the opponent pulled away late. The Blue Hose trailed by 15 at the half and as many as 17 in the second before working back within a single point on a late Kory Mincy triple before High Point went on to score 14 of the final 17 points in the game.

“I just thought – obviously, they’re a very talented team and they’re explosive,” Ferrell said. “You’ve just got to be very sharp (against them). I thought down the stretch in a couple of those possessions we did stuff pretty well, but they jumped up and made some big shots. I think some of our issues – we got some good looks, and Mincy had a wide-open three that would have cut it back to one. We kind of missed our opportunities down the stretch and they made theirs.”

“All in all, I just thought their ability to make plays – D’Maurian Williams made a huge three off the dribble in isolation with a late clock. Bobby Pettiford gets downhill with his left hand and gets to the rim and gets an and-one. Those are more just one-on-one plays. They’ve got guys that can shoot the crap out of it. That makes it tricky.”

“I just thought we played more inspired in the second half. I thought we competed at a higher level in the second half than we did the first half. They had a ton of points in the paint in the first half. In the second half, I thought because we competed more, we cut that almost in half.”

• Speaking of Williams, the grad student drew praise from Huss for his performance. While Ferrell called out the three in front of the Blue Hose bench, Huss dished out additional superlatives past the 20-point, 7-for-10 shooting effort.

“His actions today – he made some really big offensive plays and some really big defensive plays,” Huss said. “When we were reeling, I thought Coach Ferrell ran a great after time out play, and they sealed our 1-4 switch on the back side and had a layup. He made a terrific defensive play to get that steal when we were having a really difficult time getting stops. I thought that really steadied us. I thought that was maybe the defensive play of the game. I’m probably more proud of him about that than anything else. He makes really steadying plays. He was very efficient tonight. He’s mature and he’s very coachable.”

• Mincy and forward Jaylen Peterson both had big days for Presbyterian. Mincy led all scorers with 24, drilling 5-of-10 from deep and 3-of-4 from the line. Peterson snared 12 caroms and added eight points. They — along with forward Kobe Stewart and guard Jamahri Harvey — turned in big days for the Blue Hose.

Ferrell on Peterson:  “He’s been a guy that I’ve been high on coming into the season. This is a huge year for him and his development. He started the year being our starting four-man. When (center) Jonah Pierce went down, I had to bring him off the bench, because he and Kaleb (Scott) were my only fives. He’s done a really good job. I challenge him a lot, because I think he’s got a chance to be a special player in the Big South. Seeing what he did the other night at Winthrop and for him to carry that forward tonight for the second game in a row, I just need him to keep building on that. I think he can be a difference-maker for our program. I think he could be a Defensive Player of the Year guy when it’s all said and done.”

Ferrell on Mincy:  “Kory’s my point guard, I probably spend more time with him and Quadir Pettaway one-on-one than any other guys on my team because they play point guard. I really wanted to get Kory back to the level that I know he can play at. He’s been fine, but I know he’s got another gear to get to. I think in his last two performances he’s starting to be the guy that I expect him to be day in and day out – on both sides. For me to give you the label of a great player, you’ve got to do it on both ends. I think he’s up there in terms of the best guards in the league. I don’t think anybody does what he does on the defensive end, takes the challenge, guards guys and gets after them. He’s then able to still go on the offensive end and score the ball and get assists. He’s a guy that I think is a special player, but I think in the last two games, he’s starting to get to where I want him to get to. He wants that. I coach him hard. He’s a guy I got onto pretty hard at the half trying to spark our team. He responded to me big-time in the second half. I’m super proud of him.”

• The final point comes on the Mincy three that cut the High Point lead to one late. The three would have given the Blue Hose the lead, but a play initially called goaltending was wiped out after a monitor review during the break. Ferrell commented on the possible momentum swing after the game.

“Those situations – momentum plays are obviously a big deal,” Ferrell said. “We’ve got to control what we can control. Those things happen in games. Hopefully, they start happening to the opponent more than they happen to us.”

Both sides return to league play Wednesday night. High Point travels to Radford, Va., to take on the Highlanders in the Dedmon Center. Presbyterian remains home and welcomes nearby rival USC Upstate to the Templeton Center. Both games are set for a 7:00 (Eastern) tip, with streaming coverage available via ESPN+.

HIGH POINT 84, PRESBYTERIAN 72

HIGH POINT (19-5, 7-2)

Hamilton 5-8 6-9 17, Bodo Bodo 4-7 1-2 9, Giffa 3-7 6-6 12, Johnston 2-2 0-0 5, Williams 7-10 4-5 20, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Benham 3-3 0-0 9, Hildebrandt 1-2 0-0 2, Pettiford 4-6 2-3 10, Thiam 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-48 19-25 84.

PRESBYTERIAN (9-15, 2-7 BIG SOUTH)

Scott 2-4 0-1 4, King 2-5 0-0 0 4, Stewart 5-19 2-2 12, Mincy 8-17 3-4 24, Harvey 4-8 6-7 17, Peterson 2-7 4-4 8, Pettaway 1-2 0-0 3, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Parrish 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 15-18 72.

Halftime:  High Point 46-31. 3-Point goals:  Presbyterian 9-25 (King 0-1, Stewart 0-5, Mincy 5-10, Harvey 3-7, Pettaway 1-2), High Point 7-12 (Hamilton 1-1, Giffa 0-1, Johnston 1-1, Williams 2-4, Benham 3-3, Hildebrandt 0-1, Thiam 0-1). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  High Point 33 (Bodo 9), Presbyterian 32 (Peterson 12). Total fouls:  Presbyterian 21, High Point 16. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Presbyterian 17, High Point 13.  Points in the paint:  High Point 40, Presbyterian 24. Second-chance points:  Presbyterian 16, High Point 9.  Fast-break points:  Presbyterian 11, High Point 9.  Bench points:  High Point 21, Presbyterian 11.