The High Point University men's basketball team picked up its first win of the season handing Howard an 81-62 loss on Saturday night in the Jim Thorpe Classic at Fifth Third Arena.
HPU, who scored 20 points more in Saturday's contest then on Friday night, improved to 1-1 with the win. The Bisons slipped to 0-2 following their second consecutive double-digit defeat.
The Panthers placed four players in double digits and shot nearly 50 percent from the floor on the night, making 32-of-65 field goal attempts. High Point committed just 11 turnovers in the game while forcing 17 Howard miscues and also finished with a 42-31 advantage on the boards.
Junior Arizona Reid, who played just five minutes in the opening half because of foul trouble, finished with a game high 21 points to lead HPU. Reid scored 17 in the second half including seven points in an early second half Panther flurry that broke the game open. He has topped the 20-point mark in each of High Point's first two games.
Fellow junior Mike Jefferson bounced back from a sluggish opening night performance with 15 points for the Panthers while Jerald Minnis (12) and Cruz Daniels (9) both finished with career high scoring performances. Senior Landon Quick also reached double digits finishing with 10 points in the victory.
Daniels, who blocked three shots giving him eight swats for the season, led HPU on the glass hauling down 10 rebounds. True freshman Eugene Harris recorded four steals and four assists in sparking the Panther squad off the bench.
Darryl Hudson scored 17 points to lead a trio of Bison players in double-digits.
"We played much better tonight," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "We did a good job of taking care of the ball and of running our sets. Overall it was a good team effort. It feels good to get that first win. Several guys really stepped up and made contributions for us."
Howard grabbed an early advantage holding as much as an eight point lead (16-8) less than 10 minutes into the contest. High Point battled back, tying the score several times before earning their first lead of the game, 23-21, on a Minnis putback with 7:45 to play in the opening half. After a Bison three-pointer pushed them back in front, HPU outscored Howard 14-6 over the final six minutes of play to own a 37-30 lead a the break.
High Point scored the first nine points and shut Howard out through the opening five minutes of the second half earning a double-digit margin they would not relinquish. The Panthers led by as many as 20 points down the stretch as the Bisons got no closer than 14 over the closing minutes of play.
HPU concludes play at the Jim Thorpe Classic on Sunday at 7 p.m., versus event host Cincinnati. The Bearcats have posted easy wins over Howard and UT-Martin in the first two days of tournament play. The Bisons and Skyhawks face off at 4:30 p.m. in Sunday's matinee game.
