GAME INFO
Tuesday, March 3 -- at USC Upstate (Spartanburg, S.C.) 7 p.m.
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The No. 10-seeded High Point University men's basketball team (9-22, 6-12) travels to No. 7-seeded USC Upstate (12-19, 7-11) on Tuesday (March 3) in the first round of the 2020 Hercules Tires Big South Men's Basketball Championship.
 
Last Time Out
The Panthers are coming off of an 84-76 loss in their season finale at Winthrop. Freshman John-Michael Wright and senior Jamal Wright each scored a game-high 24 in the setback.
 
Matchup History
High Point is 4-2 all-time against the Spartans. The Panthers won both matchups against USC Upstate this season, the most recent being a 62-54 victory at Millis Center. This is the first time the schools will meet in the Big South Tournament.
 
Tournament History
High Point is 11-18 all-time in the Big South Tournament after losing 75-69 to Gardner-Webb in last year's quarterfinals. The Panthers last tournament victory came against Longwood in 2016, 89-78 behind Miles Bowman Jr's 19-point effort.
 
Across the Bench
The Spartans are coming off of a 90-79 road win against Hampton, snapping a four-game losing streak. Everette Hammond led the way with 28 points with Dalvin White (17) and Kevin Zink (14) contributing as well.
 
USC Upstate is led by sophomore Hammond who is averaging 14.3 points on 39% shooting. He's aided by classmate White, who leads the Spartans in assist (3.7) and has also proven to be a marksman from beyond the arc, shooting at a 35% clip.
 
USC Upstate is led by second year head coach Dave Dickerson. He most recently was a scout for the NBA's Utah Jazz before spending seven seasons as associate head coach at Ohio State. He was previously the head coach at Tulane for five seasons. Dickerson was teammates with HPU assistant coach Keith Gatlin at the University of Maryland (1985-88).
 
But He's Only a Freshman
John-Michael Wright finished the season leading all Big South freshmen in scoring with 14.4 per game, which also ranks him sixth in scoring in the conference overall. He is also the top freshman in rebounding with 5.4 boards per game, good enough for 12th overall in the conference. The freshman has scored at least 10 points in 23 games this season. He is also eighth in the Big South with a .765 free throw percentage.

Postseason Recognition
John-Michael Wright was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team and All-Conference Honorable Mention, while redshirt sophomore Caden Sanchez was named to the BSC All-Academic Team.
 
Five for JMW
John-Michael Wright averaged 23.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in two games. He opened with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double vs. UNC Asheville on Thursday, and concluded the week with 24 points, six boards, three assists and three steals Saturday at Winthrop. For the week, Wright was 14-of-27 from the field (51.9%) and 15-of-20 from the charity stripe (75.0%).
 
The Senior is Shining
Senior Jamal Wright has averaged 13.1 points per game over his last nine contests, all coming off of the bench. Wright chipped with a game-tying high 24 points in Saturday's setback at Winthrop. He has now recorded double digits in scoring in seven out of his last 11 games.
 
RP3
Sophomore Rob Peterson III has started the last 14 games in the absence of Curtis Holland III. Peterson has averaged six points per game and 7.5 rebounds a game over that span and is averaging 5.3 rebounds a game, good for 14th in conference.
 
Chairman of the Offensive boards
Redshirt sophomore Caden Sanchez ranks third in the Big South with 2.4 offensive rebounds a game.
 
Glass Cleaners
High Point have been terrific on the offensive and defensive boards. They rank third in the Big South in rebounding margin at +1.1.
 
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.
 
Defensive Boards
High Point is second the Big South with a 33.2 game rebounding defense.
 
 
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