WHEN: Monday, December 19, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Ramsey Center (8,000)
RECORDS: High Point (6-5), Western Carolina (3-7)
SERIES RECORD: High Point leads 40-22
LAST MEETING: High Point def. Western Carolina, 75-69, on Nov. 21, 2015
LIVE VIDEO: SoCon Digital Network
LIVE AUDIO: High Point Panthers Radio Network
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
 
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball wraps up non-conference play on Monday, Dec. 19, when the team travels to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on Western Carolina.
 
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Kevin Burke will be back on the call on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 7 p.m.
 
PAW PRINTS
• HPU is coming off a 79-61 win over NC Wesleyan on Friday, the Purple & White's third of the season against a USA South opponent. Andre Fox turned in his fifth 20-point game of the season with a game-high 21 for the Panthers. He also set a new career high with five assists.
 
• The Panthers sit atop the Big South and are ranked 26th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 40.3 percent. HPU has shot over .380 in all but two games this season and set a program Div. I record in 3-point shooting percentage by going 12-15 (.800) at Vanderbilt on Dec. 6.
 
• Sophomore Andre Fox is seventh in the Big South in scoring (14.6 ppg). He has posted 20+ points in five games so far this season, tied for third most in the conference.
 
• Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. is one of 42 players nationally with five double-doubles in 2016-17. He is second in the Big South and 51st nationally in rebounds/game (9.1).
 
• High Point has excelled in free throw shooting on the road, going 67-85 (.788). Bowman is first in the Big South and 28th in the nation in free throw percentage at .907 (39-43).
 
• Freshman point guard Jamal Wright dished out a career-high seven assists vs. NC Wesleyan and is second in the Big South in assists per game (4.0). He has 44 assists while committing just 25 turnovers (1.6 A/TO ratio, 3rd in BSC).
 
•  High Point is looking to improve to 2-0 against the SoCon this season when the team takes on Western Carolina on Monday. The Panthers previously earned a 63-57 win over inter-Triad Rival UNCG at the Millis Center on Nov. 18. Fox led a group of three HPU players in double figures with 20 points to go along with six rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
 
HISTORY vs. WESTERN CAROLINA
High Point leads the all-time series against Western Carolina, 44-20. The former Carolinas Conference members have met just three times in the HPU Div. I era with the Panthers earning wins in all three contests. High Point picked up a 75-69 win over the Catamounts at the Millis Center last season in the two teams' last meeting. John Brown had 20 points to lead the Purple & White and Lorenzo Cugini had 13. Austin White came off the bench to score a then career-high 12 points in 17 minutes, going 4-6 from the field and 4-4 from the line. Haboubacar Mutombo is the leading returning scorer from that game for WCU as the guard scored 12 points off the bench for the Catamounts.
 
HISTORY vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS
High Point has complied a 328-270 (.548) record all-time against Div. I programs hailing from the Tar Heel State. HPU's most common opponents are Elon (86-76, .531), Appalachian State (60-36, .625) and Western Carolina (40-22, .645). The majority of those meetings came during the NAIA era. High Point is 78-71 (.523) against Big South programs from North Carolina and 250-199 (.557) against the rest of the state's Div. I teams. HPU was 5-2 against in-state foes in 2015-16.
 
HISTORY vs. SOCON OPPONENTS
The Panthers are 74-50 (.597) all-time against current members of the Southern Conference. The Panthers most common opponents are Western Carolina (40-22), VMI (13-10) and UNCG (10-2). In addition to the long-time series with WCU during the NAIA days, HPU and VMI clashed often over the past decade during VMI's tenure in the Big South.
 
A LOOK AT THE CATAMOUNTS (3-7, 0-0 SoCon)
Western Carolina has won just three games in non-conference play this season, earning victories over Hiwassee, Jackson State  and Appalachian State. The Catamounts lost their top four scorers from last season and have struggled to replace their production with just one regular starter from 2015-16 back this season. WCU averages just 54.4 points per game, last in the nation. Returning junior Haboubacar Mutombo has started nine games and leads the team with 10.2 points per game. Lone returning starter Marc Gosselin is tops on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game while also averaging 7.1 points per contest.
 
UP NEXT
Following the game against the Catamounts, High Point will get 10 days off for the holiday before opening Big South play on the road at Gardner-Webb on Dec. 29 in Boiling Springs, N.C. Tip in the game against the Runnin' Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m.
 
#GoHPU