GAME INFO
Thursday, Jan. 30 -- vs Campbell (Buies Creek, N.C.), 7 p.m.
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The High Point University men's basketball team (5-16, 2-6 Big South) travels to Buies Creek to compete against Campbell (11-9, 2-6 Big South) on Thursday (Jan.30) in Big South Conference action.
 
Matchup History
The schools have played 77 times with High Point holding a strong 35-22 all-time series advantage. The Panthers have won two out of the last three against Campbell, with their most recent matchup coming last season, a tough 61-48 Camel victory.
 
Across the Bench
Campbell hosts the Panthers after dropping two Big South road games against Presbyterian (Jan. 20) and Hampton (Jan. 23).  
 
Campbell is led by both sophomore Cedric Henderson Jr. and junior Jordan Whitfield. Henderson leads the team in points per game with 12, while hauling in four rebounds per game. Whitfield has been a sniper from behind the arc, shooting at a 51% clip this season. The pair had career-highs in points in their last game with Henderson tallying 19 while Whitfield finished the game with 20 of his own.
 
Campbell is led by seventh year Head Coach Kevin McGeehan. He's led the program to three consecutive post-season berths, the first time that has been accomplished in the program's NCAA Division I era. McGeehan has also guided the Camels to 57 victories over the last three years – also the top mark in Campbell's D1 tenure.
 
Freshman of the Week
Freshman John-Michael Wright earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors for the fourth time this season. He had a career night in a loss to Gardner-Webb, dropping a season-high 31 points and eclipsing his personal best with seven three-pointers. His 31 points was the most scored by an HPU freshman since Nick Barbour's 32 points vs Coastal Carolina in 2008. Also, his 20 first half points was the first time a Panther has dropped 20 in an opening period since Andre Fox in the 2017-18 season opener. He finished the week off with a 24-point performance against USC Upstate and an 18-point game at home against Longwood.
 
But He's Only a Freshman
John-Michael Wright leads all Big South freshmen in scoring averaging with 14.9 per game, which also ranks him ninth in scoring in the conference overall. He is also the top freshman in rebounding with 5.0 boards per game, good enough for 15th overall in the conference. The freshman has now scored at least 10 points in seven straight games and 17 times this season.
 
 
RP3
Sophomore Rob Peterson III has started the past five games in the absence of Curtis Holland III and has not disappointed. Peterson had a career-high 12 rebounds a 70-62 win at USC Upstate and was one point away (nine) from a double-double and has averaged 8.6 boards over the span and 6.2 points per game.
 
Slay off the Bench
Junior Denny Slay II tied his season-high with 17 points at USC Upstate (Jan. 20) and has averaged 11.4 points per game over his last five contests.
 
Man Oh Man(ny)
With the absence of veteran big man Cliff Thomas, freshman Emmanual Izunabor has seen a significant increase in his minutes and been thrust into a more prominent role. He's averaging six points and four rebounds in this five-game stretch, doubling his season averages.
 
Chairman of the Offensive boards
Redshirt sophomore Caden Sanchez ranks third in the Big South with 2.3 offensive rebounds a game.
 
Home Cookin'
Freshman Eric Coleman has stepped his game up when playing at Millis, he's scored in double digits in three straight and four out of his last five games at home, including 10 points in Saturday's matchup against Longwood. He's averaging 10 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in that span.
 
Swiper No Swiping!
John-Michael Wright has been a nightmare for opposing ballhandlers this season. The freshman out of Fayetteville has 19 steals, which leads the team.
 
Glass Cleaners
High Point have been terrific on the offensive and defensive boards. They rank second in the Big South in rebounding margin at +2.8.
 
JUST BLOCKin' it
Sanchez ranks fifth in the Big South with 1.0 block per game. His five-block game against Longwood (Jan. 25) was the first in program history since John Brown in 2016.
 
They Are Free for a Reason
High Point is the 141st best free throw shooting team in the country.
 
Defensive Boards
High Point leads the Big South with a 31.9 a game rebounding defense.
 
Up Next: HPU returns to Millis Center on Thursday (Feb. 6) when it hosts Hampton at 7 p.m.
 
 
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