The High Point University men's basketball team (2-7) heads back to Florida on Saturday (Dec. 15) looking for its second consecutive win and first road win of the season as it faces Florida Atlantic (5-4) in Boca Raton.
 
Matchup History

• Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between Florida Atlantic and High Point.
• Head coach Tubby Smith is 13-4 all-time in his career against teams from the Conference-USA, with this being the first time he has faced FAU.

Panther Notes

• HPU heads back on the road after a nine-day break from game action. The team last played on December 5th, winning an exciting overtime game over Elon at the Millis Center, 70-66. 
• John-Michael Wright had a career-high 20 points in the game against Elon, shooting 4-6 from behind the arc. The freshman is now averaging 12.3 points per game, the second most of any freshman in the Big South.
• Redshirt junior Cliff Thomas Jr. scored a season-high 12 points in the contest against the Phoenix, including the game-winning bucket, while also grabbing six rebounds in the game.
• Thomas Jr. also recorded two blocks in the game, bringing his season total to 11, which is third-most in the conference.
• Sophomore Curtis Holland III also chipped in 12 points in the game against Elon, including a crucial three-pointer that sent the game into overtime. Holland's 12.9 points per game put him at eleventh in scoring in the Big South, the most of any Panther.
• The Panthers were 22-30 from the free throw line against Elon, bringing their season average to .743, second-best in the Big South.

Across the Bench

• Florida Atlantic is a part of the Conference USA and sits at 5-4 heading into the contest against High Point, including a 3-1 record at the Boca Raton Beach Classic and a 5-1 overall home record.
• Senior guard Cornelius Taylor leads the way offensively for the Owls, scoring 12.0 points per game while sophomore Karlis Silins adds 9.3 points per game.
• Freshman Kenan Blackshear is coming off a Conference-USA Freshman of the Week performance, averaging 9.5 points per game in the Owls contests last week.
• The Owls are the third-best rebounding team in the C-USA, averaging 38.9 team rebounds per game, led by sophomore Madiaw Niang who grabs 5.6 rebounds per game.

Up Next: High Point will be back in action at the Millis Center on Wednesday (Dec. 18) as they host Valparaiso. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
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