SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA. – The High Point men's basketball team took it down to the wire with Central Michigan on Monday afternoon in the team's first time playing in the SoCal Challenge. In the 68-67 win, the Panthers scratched the programs first ever Mid-American Conference victory, led by
Jaden House with 26 points. The one-point nail biter gave HPU the ticket to the Sand Division Championship game on Wednesday, November 23rd with a matchup against Tennessee State.
Site: Jserra Catholic HS
Score: High Point 68 , Central Michigan 67
Records: High Point (4-1, 0-0), Central Michigan (1-3, 0-0)
G.G. Smith – "Obviously I'm proud of the win and I'm proud of the guys effort. In a tournament style play, it's always about surviving and advancing and I'm glad we get a chance at the championship game in the sand division. I thought our first eight minutes we didn't really play well but we started the first half with an 18-0 run so that pretty much won us the game. Even though the guys didn't get off to a great start we finished strong and I'm really proud of the way the guys played."
It was a slow start for the Panthers on the offensive end, as
Abdoulaye Thiam grabbed the first bucket for HPU at the 17:27 minute mark with a float on the right block.
The highlight of the night was
Zack Austin's Sportcenter Top 10 dunk that rocked the gym off a behind the back pass from
Bryant Randleman on a fast break over to Austin for the one-handed dunk over the Central Michigan defender.
With six minutes left to go in the first half, High Point was down by 16 to Central Michigan, making it the largest deficit of the game.
Jaden House strolled down the middle of the lane and rolled one over the rim to spark the Panthers momentum.
HPU went on a 14-1 run with baskets from
Emmanuel Izunabor, House and Thiam, with House scoring 10 of the 14 points.
Down by three at the half, House's two back-to-back lay-ups down the right side gave High Point their first lead of the day, 31-30.
Mid-way through the second half, Thiam had the bench jumping as the Panthers took a 10-point lead with his reverse lay-up through the paint.
The Chippewas stayed in it, tying the game up at 54 all with just under seven minutes.
House added a three-point cushion with just under two minutes to go in the game with an off the glass lay-up on the right side.
A dunk from Central Michigan would close the gap to one, with a minute and 30 seconds left. The Panthers did a good job possessing the ball at the end, using the clock to take as much time off before taking a shot.
After getting the defensive rebound with one minute remaining in the set, Central Michigan came down and tried to get a quick lay-up. The miss by Central Michigan's Jesse Zarzuela landed in Izunabor's hands.
A shot at the end for High Point resulted in a jump ball off the rebound, giving Central Michigan one more opportunity with eight seconds left on the clock, but good defense from the Panthers and an off balance shot for Zarzuela advanced High Point on to the Championship game.
Overall, four of the Panthers five starters scored in double figures; House (26), Thiam (11), Austin (10) and Randleman (10), as Izunabor led the team in boards with 12 to go along with his six points.
Up Next: The Panthers will play in the Championship game of the SoCal Challenge Sand Division on Wednesday, November 23
rd at 2:30 PM PST (5:30 PM EST).
#GoHPU
