The High Point University men's basketball team opens the 2022-23 season at the Qubein Center with an exhibition game against Bridgewater College. Tipoff is set for 7:00 pm and doors will open at 5:30pm for spectators. Fans can pick up schedule posters for the 2022-23 season upon entrance to the game and students will receive a free rally towel from the student section.
Game Info
Saturday, Nov. 5 -- VS Bridgewater (Exhibition) (Qubein Center) 7:00 PM
Live Stats |
Game Notes
Last Season with the Panthers
HPU finished the 2021-22 season with an overall record of 14-18 and a Big South conference record of 7-9. Making it to the conference tournament, the Panthers were victorious in the first round, beating No. 10 seed Hampton, 84-77 before ending their season in the second rounds to No. 2 seed Winthrop, 51-68. Returning to the squad this season are four out of the five starters, including
Zack Austin,
Jaden House,
Bryant Randleman and
Emmanuel Izunabor. Austin and House both averaged double figures last season in point while Randleman contributed by dishing out 103 assists. Coming off the bench last season,
Alex Holt was another big presence in the paint, averaging 6.7 points per game and 3.6 rebounds.
Across the Bench
The Eagles finished the 2021-22 season with an overall record of 10-16 and a conference record of 5-11 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). Bridgewater finished ninth overall in the ODAC regular season play before ending their postseason play in the Quarterfinals of the ODAC tournament to Randolph-Macon, 56-80.
The Eagles return, freshman leader, Shod Smith, from Washington, North Carolina who was named the ODAC Rookie of the Year. Smith started all 26 games during the 2022-23 season and averaged 14.7 points per game, 4.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds. The Eagles also return two more top scorers from the starting lineup, which include Andy Pack and Alec Topper who each averaged 13.7 and 13.4 points per game, respectively.
Bridgewater is coached by Steven Enright, a graduate of Mount Ida College, who enters his fourth season as the head coach for the Eagles. Enright has a combined record of 21-39 and has led his team to the ODAC postseason tournament for the past three seasons. This will be the first meeting between the Panthers and the Eagles.
Panther Notes
Mr. Austin
Zack Austin was named to the Big South Preseason First Team for the 2022-23 season. Following the 2021-22 season, Austin was named the Big South Freshman of the year while also being named to the second team all-conference selection. A key player for the Panthers, Austin started all 32 games and averaged 14.4 points per game, shooting 41.4% from the field. He contributed on the defensive end by averaging 8.0 rebounds per game (1st in Big South) and collecting a team-high 69 blocks (3rd in Big South), averaging just over two per game. Along with blocks, Austin led the team in steals, picking up 43 for the season (10th in Big South). Within the conference, Austin made the top 10 in seven different statistical categories, including scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals, 3-point field goals made, blocked shots and minutes played.
Non-Conference Play
High Point will play 13 non-conference games in total, seven of them taking place inside the beautiful Qubein Center and the other six occurring on the road. The Panther's farthest trip is to the west coast for the SoCal Challenge in San Juan Capistrano, California.
It's G.G. Time
Coach Smith enters his first full season as the head coach for High Point. G.G. took over the program on February 16th of 2022, finishing out the final games with a 3-3 record.
Year Two in the Qubein Center
After posting a 10-6 record in its new home a season ago, HPU returns to the $170 million state-of-the-art Qubein Arena & Conference Center for its second season. In last season's exhibition game against Mount Olive, the Panthers defeated the Trojans 95-70 in front of 4,115 fans. Throughout the 16 games in the regular season in the Qubein Center, High Point brought in over 49,600 spectators, having the highest attendance in the Big South and 2
nd most for arenas with 5000 capacity or less.
#OurCityOurUniversity x #GoHPU
