WHEN: Thursday, December 29, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Paul Porter Arena (3,500)
RECORDS: High Point (6-6), Gardner-Webb (7-6)
SERIES RECORD: High Point leads 26-24
LAST MEETING: Gardner-Webb def. High Point, 79-74, on Feb. 3, 2016
LIVE VIDEO: Big South Network
LIVE AUDIO: High Point Panthers Radio Network
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
 
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team returns from the holiday to open conference play on the road at Gardner-Webb on Thursday, Dec. 29, in Boiling Springs, N.C.
 
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Kevin Burke will be back on the call on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
 
PAW PRINTS
• The Panthers are 10-6 in conference openers since joining the Big South in the 1999-00 season. Last season, High Point earned a 90-66 win over Longwood behind 18 points from John Brown. Senior Anthony Lindauer was one of four players in double figures with 14 points on 5-10 shooting, including a 3-5 mark from behind the arc.
 
• HPU dropped its final non-conference game of the season with a 70-65 loss at Western Carolina on Dec. 19. Senior Tarique Thompson got his first start of the season and went off for his first collegiate double-double with a team-high 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, the most by a High Point player this season.
 
• The Panthers sit atop the Big South and are ranked 36th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 39.6 percent. HPU has shot over .380 in all but three 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 (14.2 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 58 players nationally with five double-doubles in 2016-17. He is second in the Big South and 53rd nationally in rebounds/game (9.1).
 
• High Point has excelled in free throw shooting on the road, going 93-120 (.775). Bowman is first in the Big South and 26th 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 (3.6). He has 44 assists while committing just 28 turnovers (1.6 A/TO ratio, 3rd in BSC).
 
HISTORY vs. GARDNER-WEBB
High Point holds a slim 26-24 lead in the all-time series against Gardner-Webb. The Panthers and Runnin' Bulldogs split their two meetings last season with both teams earning wins on the other's home floor in two games decided by a combined seven points. High Point picked up a slim 66-64 win at Paul Porter Arena then dropped the rematch in the Millis Center by a score of 79-74. John Brown averaged 24 points and 10.5 rebounds in the two games while Anthony Lindauer averaged 13 points per contest. Harold McBride averaged 16.5 points for Gardner-Webb and Tyrell Nelson averaged 15 points.
 
HISTORY vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS
High Point has complied a 328-271 (.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 (40-23, .635). The majority of those meetings came during the NAIA era. High Point is 78-71 (.523) against Big South programs from North Carolina and 250-200 (.556) against the rest of the state's Div. I teams. HPU was 5-2 against in-state foes in 2015-16.
 
A LOOK AT THE RUNNIN' BULLDOGS (7-6, 0-0 BIG SOUTH)
Gardner-Webb is 7-6 on the season, including a 70-62 win at Big Ten foe Nebraska on Dec. 18. The Runnin' Bulldogs have played a very challenging schedule that includes five games at Power 5 opponents. In addition to Nebraska, GWU has also played at SMU, Pittsburgh, Georgia and Kansas State. Gardner-Webb's only two losses this season to non-Power 5 opponents were to Eastern Michigan in Indianapolis, Ind., and at home to Furman. Heading into conference play, the Runnin' Bulldogs are tops in the Big South in field goal percentage, opponent field goal percentage, assists per game and rebounding margin. The team is led by senior forward Tyrell Nelson who is averaging a team-high 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Nelson is one of three players averaging double figures in scoring along with David Efianayi (12.6 ppg) and LaQuincy Rideau (12.5 ppg). Rideau also leads both Gardner-Webb and the Big South in assists with 4.8 per game. 
 
UP NEXT
High Point returns home for the first time in two weeks on Saturday, Dec. 31, when the team will host conference foe Longwood at the Millis Center. Tip for the game is set for 4 p.m.
 
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