Despite over a week off from competition due to final exams, the High Point University men's basketball team showed little signs of rust en route to dusting off Anderson University, 87-48, on Friday night at the Millis Athletic Center.
The Panthers (5-4), who ran their current home win streak to seven games and their non-conference home win streak to 17, got career best performances from both senior starters this bounce back game following a lackluster showing versus Johnson & Wales last week. Anderson slipped to 3-6 on the year with the loss.
HPU forward Arizona Reid finished with a career best 37 points on 16-20 shooting from the floor and pulled down 10 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and Big South leading sixth this season. Point guard Mike Jefferson also finished with his second straight double-double, scoring 10 points and handing out a personal best 15 assists.
For the game, High Point shot 61 percent (36-59) from the field while holding the Trojans to just 31.1 percent (14-45). HPU held a five rebound advantage (32-27) on the glass and also forced 25 turnovers including 14 steals. The Panthers recorded a season best 29 assists for the game. Eleven of the 13 HPU players who saw game action scored in the contest.
"I thought the energy and effort was the best we've shown all season," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "I have to give our guys all the credit for doing all the little things and earning all the hustle plays. It was nice to see us finally play a complete game. It was good for us to win and to begin to figure out how we want to play."
The two teams battled back-and-forth over the opening 10 minutes. High Point opened up an eight-point lead twice behind layups from Reid and Jefferson, but Anderson used a 7-0 run to cut the margin to one before eventually earning a 21-21 tie with 9:37 left in the first half.
Sophomore Eugene Harris, who finished with 16 points including four three-pointers, drained treys that started and ended a 26-5 run by the Panthers to close the half. HPU scored 13 consecutive points during one flurry and Reid scored 11 points during the scoring stretch. High Point owned a 47-26 halftime advantage.
High Point continued their offensive blitz to start the second half outscoring Anderson 15-3 over the first six minutes to earn a 33-point lead. The Panthers would build a lead as large as 45 points (87-42) before clearing the bench in the closing minutes. The Trojans scored the final six points of the game to secure the final deficit.
Brandon Young scored 15 points to lead Anderson offense while Kris Fudzinsksas grabbed five rebounds to pace the Trojans on the glass.
HPU sophomore Cruz Daniels, who missed the last two games due to a throat injury, made his return to the lineup on Friday with six points, four rebounds and three blocked shots in 12 minutes of action.
The Panthers conclude their current three-game home stand on Tuesday against Savannah State at 7 p.m. The game marks the final home appearance of the 2007 calendar for HPU. It is also the first of a quirky home-and-home series with SSU, as High Point visits the Tigers next Saturday (Dec. 22) at 2 p.m. in Savannah.
