GAME INFO
Saturday, Nov. 23 -- vs. Eastern Washington (Millis Center), 2 p.m.
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The High Point University men's basketball team (0-5) closes out the Gotham Classic by hosting Eastern Washington (2-2) on Saturday (Nov. 23) afternoon at the Millis Center. 
 
The Gotham Classic, run by the Gazelle Group, is an 'multi-team exempt' college basketball event (or MTE), allowing all four contests to count as just one toward the cap of 31 scheduled games. This marks the first time HPU has appeared in the Gotham Classic, and are joined by Eastern Washington, Belmont, Boston College and Saint Louis.
 
Matchup History

• This is the first matchup between the Panthers and Eastern Washington. 
• Head coach Tubby Smith has faced the Eagles once in his 28 seasons as an NCAA DI head coach, holding a 1-0 record against Eastern Washington.

 
Panther Notes

• HPU is coming off of a 67-55 loss at defending A-10 champion Saint Louis. John-Michael Wright and Curtis Holland led the Panthers in scoring against the Billikens with 19 points each. 
• Eric Coleman Jr. led the way on the boards for HPU bringing in six of their total 28 rebounds. The Panthers recorded one more assist than the Billikens with 13 total. Cliff Thomas Jr., John-Michael Wright, and Caden Sanchez were tied with a team best three assists each on the night.
• Freshman John-Michael Wright has 63 points on the season which puts him second among freshmen in scoring in the Big South, averaging 12.6 points per game. Wright has recorded double digits in three of his first four collegiate contests.
• The Panthers are back in the Millis Center for the first time since the first week of November when they hosted William & Mary in the home opener. Saturday's game brings an end to four consecutive road contests against tough competition, three of the Panthers four opponents over this stretch were 2019 NCAA tournament teams. 
• Redshirt Junior Cliff Thomas Jr. currently ranks fourth in the Big South with a 1.4 blocks per game average, while ranking third in the Big South in total blocks on the season with seven.

 
Across the Bench

• Eastern Washington comes from Cheney, Washington and plays in the Big Sky conference. They finished third in the conference last year with a 12-18 record (16-18 overall).
• The Eagles come into the game having already played two of their contests in the Gotham Classic. They fell on the road to Saint Louis (60-82) and just short to Boston College, 72-68. They will host Belmont in their final game of the Gotham Classic on Tuesday.
• Eastern Washington won its first two games of the season against Portland Bible College (107-25) and Seattle University (74-66).
• Junior guard Jacob Davison leads the team offensively, averaging 17.0 points per game, with a 26-point performance at Boston College. 
• Sophomore forward Kim Aiken Jr. has also been a key piece for Eastern Washington, averaging a double-double with 13.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. His 12.3 rebounds per game are good enough ninth best in the country. 

 
Up Next: The Panthers are back in action as they host Greensboro College on Tuesday in the Millis Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.  
 
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