High Point to Host Legend’s Classic Saturday and Sunday

Men's Basketball November 19, 2021 Kevin McMahon Jr.

High Point to Host Legend’s Classic Saturday and Sunday

HPU plays host to the Legend's Classic at High Point University as HPU will take on Howard on Saturday at 2:00 PM. At 5:00 PM William & Mary will face Georgia State. Both winning teams will play against each other on Sunday at 2:00 PM. The remaining teams will play at 5:00 PM in the consolation game on Sunday to wrap up the Legend's Classic at HPU event.

The Field

Howard

The Bison were 1-4 last season after canceling the rest of their games midseason out of an abundance of caution amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steve Settle led the Bison in scoring a season ago with a 14.2 ppg average.

Howard is coached by Kenneth Blakeney who was hired in May of 2019. Entering his second season he signed Makur Maker who became the first 5-star recruit to commit to a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) since ESPN started ranking prospects in 2007. Maker played two games for Howard as a freshman then declared for the NBA draft after his freshman season.

Georgia State

Georgia State was 16-6 last season, featuring a thrilling four-overtime win over in-state foe Georgia Tech. The Georgia State Panthers fell to App State in the SBC Championship game.

Corey Allen led Georgia State in scoring last season with 15 points per game.

Rob Lanier is the head coach for Georgia State, he heads into his third season with Georgia State.

William & Mary

The Tribe went 7-10 last season, HPU defeated William & Mary 71-49 in Williamsburg, Va.

Connor Kochera is William & Mary's leading returning scorer. Kochera had 13.4 points per game a season ago.

Dane Fischer is the head coach of William & Mary; he became the 31st head coach in Tribe men's basketball history.

For Haiishen

Prior to the tip of the Howard game on Saturday High Point Men's Basketball will honor the life of HPU basketball great Haiishen McIntyre.

Last Time Out

HPU fell to ACC opponent Notre Dame 70-61 on the ACC Network on Tuesday (Nov. 16) night. John-Michael Wright and Jaden House led HPU in scoring with 17 points each. With his 17-point performance House tied his career-best for points.

Competing against Power-5 Opponents

The Panthers have a history of playing Power-5 schools closely the 70-61 result against Notre Dame was the 14th time a game between HPU, and a Power-5 was decided by less than ten points.

Coach Smith on lessons learned against Northwestern carried into tonight's matchup with Irish: "We did a good job defending the three they were 6-31. But they got too many second chances with 19 offensive rebounds, but we learned to guard the three, we did a better job of handling the screens. We just have to learn how to play without fouling. Overall, I thought our effort was good."

History-Making Weekend in Qubein Center

This weekend marks the first time HPU will host a tournament at its new facility, the Qubein Center.

Panther Dunk Counter

HPU has ten dunks on the season so far. Zack Austin had the lone slam against ND last time out. The game between HPU and ND only contained two dunks with each time earning a jam.

Non-Conference Play

High Point will play 14 non-conference games in total, nine of them taking place inside the beautiful Qubein Center in its inaugural season and the other five occurring on the road. Four of the Panthers' five opponents on the road are Power-Five teams.

#OurCityOurUniversity x #GoHPU

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