Box Score (PDF)• The Panthers made two stops on Coastal's final possession to grab the road victory
• HPU held a +5 (41-36) advantage on the glass against the league's best rebounding team
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John Brown and
Adam Weary each posted 13 points to lead HPU to the road win
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CONWAY, S.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team earned a pair of stops on Coastal Carolina's final possession to pick up a critical 68-67 road victory on Thursday night inside the HTC Center.
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After two free throws from
Haiishen McIntyre gave HPU a four-point lead (68-64) with 57 seconds to play, Coastal's Shivaughn Wiggins nailed a 3-pointer (00:43) to pull the Chanticleers within one (68-67).
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After HPU could not convert on its next possession, HPU make a pair of key defensive plays.
John Brown blocked Elijah Wilson with two seconds to play, but Coastal kept possession and had a final shot. The Chanticleers had a look to win it, but could not convert, as the Panthers escaped with the victory.
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High Point improves to 15-9 and 8-5 in the Big South, while Coastal Carolina fell to 15-9 (9-5 Big South). The win ended Coastal Carolina's seven-game winning streak.
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"This win is huge for our team," head coach
Scott Cherry said. "We're trying to move in the right direction. We've been through a tough stretch, but that's how it goes. We didn't shoot the ball well at all, but a lot of guys stepped up.
Andre Fox was big and the bench really contributed. But we can't be satisfied. We need to build on this and continue to improve."
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HPU did not shoot the ball well in the game, making just 23-of-62 attempts (.371) while shooting 14.3 percent (3-21) from deep.
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But HPU checked off three big keys to the game to grab the victory.
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• The Panthers out-rebounded the conference's best rebounding team, 41-36. HPU is now 10-1 when it wins the rebounding battle this season.
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• High Point held a much needed 30-18 edge in bench scoring for the game. The Panthers also are 10-1 when the bench scores 20 or more points in 2015-16.
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• HPU limited Coastal to just 28.6 percent (4-14) shooting from 3-point range. Panther foes had shot at least 40 percent from deep in each of HPU's last five defeats.
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Four Panthers scored in double figures during Thursday night's win. Redshirt-senior
John Brown notched 13 points (6-9 FG), nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while senior
Adam Weary chipped in 13 points and four rebounds.
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Freshman
Andre Fox provided a huge boost off the bench with 12 points, four rebounds and two blocks. And junior
Anthony Lindauer chipped in 10 points and connected on 2-of-4 3-point attempts for the Panthers.
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The Panthers jumped out to a 10-6 lead and held an 18-13 advantage after a jumper from the corner from redshirt-junior
Miles Bowman Jr. CCU cut the lead to one (20-19) at the 9:29 mark of the half, but from there, the Panthers exploded for a 14-3 run that pushed HPU ahead, 34-22.
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Coastal rallied with five straight to cut the lead to seven (34-27), but HPU regained a 10-point lead (37-27) on a 3-point play from Weary with 1:09 to go in the half. The Panthers entered the break ahead, 39-29.
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The Chanticleers opened the second half on a 14-5 run to cut the HPU lead to five (44-43) at the 15:25 mark of the stanza. HPU led 51-50 with 11:27 to play, but used a 6-0 run to extend the edge to seven (57-50).
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A 3-pointer from Weary and free throw from Fox built the lead up to nine (62-53) with six minutes left, but Coastal responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to two (62-60) with 4:30 to go. But HPU made its key stops down the stretch and improved to 4-2 on the road in Big South play.
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High Point returns to the Millis Center for an ESPN3 contest vs. Charleston Southern on Saturday (Feb. 13). Tip-off between the Panthers and Buccaneers is scheduled for 7 p.m. HPU won the first meeting between the teams, 78-73, on Jan. 2 inside the Buc Dome.
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