photo credit: John Quackenbos

Site: Chestnut Hill, Mass. (Conte Forum)
Score: Boston College , High Point
Records: BC (3-0, 1-0 ACC), HPU (0-3, 0-0 Big South)
Next HPU Event: Monday, Nov. 18 -- at Belmont (Nashville, Tenn.), 7:30 p.m.
 
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The High Point University men's basketball team was defeated by ACC foe Boston College, 59-33, in the opening game of the Gotham Classic on Wednesday (Nov. 13) evening.
 
"I think we had too many turnovers and you can't win a game when you turn the ball over that much," said head coach Tubby Smith. "We did a good job of defending them though, we just need to start making shots. We really contested most of their three's and defended well."
 
Junior Denny Slay II led the Panthers in scoring with 10 points while going 2-3 from beyond the arc.
 
Boston College got off to a hot start, going on a 10-0 run to begin the contest. The Panthers found their groove and went on a 14-8 run midway through the opening stanza to cut the Eagles lead to two. Sophomore Curtis Holland III tallied six points in that 10-minute span, which also saw four minutes where HPU held the hosts scoreless to its seven.
 
High Point's defense held the Eagles to 33 points in the first half, almost ten points lower than their first half average (42.5). It was the least amount of points BC has put up in an opening half this season.
 
The game would be out of reach for the Panthers when Boston College went on a 23-0 run, which included the first 9:55 of the second half.
 
Defensively, High Point held BC to 16.5 points under its season average points per game (75.5). The Panthers also held them to 12% from outside the three-point line, coming into the game shooting 35.9% from downtown.
 
BC's 59 points was the least amount of points by an HPU opponent in a win since last season's 55-51 setback at Longwood (Jan. 24, 2019).
 
HPU will return to action in the Gotham Classic on Monday, Nov. 18 when it travels to Nashville, Tenn. to take on Belmont at 7:30 p.m. Belmont and Boston College will be facing one another this coming Saturday (Nov. 16) in Chestnut Hill.