The High Point University men's basketball team remains on the road for their final non-conference matchup on Wednesday, December 21
st. The Panthers and the Pirates are set to faceoff at 6:00 PM in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
Game Info
Wednesday, Dec. 21 -- VS ECU (Williams Arena, Minges Coliseum) 6:00 PM on ESPN+
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
Last Time Out
High Point attempted to weather the storm this past Saturday after experiencing some turbulence during their matchup at UNCW. After being down 22 points in the second half, the Panthers made an effort to close the gap and take the lead. The Panthers unfortunately ran out of time in the end and came up short by three to fall 82-85. HPU was led by
Jaden House with 25 points, four rebounds and two steals. Coming in two points shy from the 20-point club was
Abdoulaye Thiam who added 18 points for the Panthers. Thiam's three back-to-back threes helped the Panthers cut the 22-point deficit to 13, as he collected all 18 points in the second half. Overall High Point shot 42.2% from the field, 42.1% from behind the arc and 62.5% from the line. On the glass, High Point secured 36 rebounds to the Seahawks' 41, led by
Ahmard Harvey with nine.
Across the Bench
ECU has an overall record of 8-4, with a home record of 5-1. The teams four losses came against Indiana State, Old Dominion, South Carolina State and UNCW. The Pirates are coming off a two-game win streak, after most recently beating South Carolina on Saturday, 64-56. In the game against the Game Cocks, ECU was led by sophomore guard, RJ Felton with 21 points after going 8-for-13 from the field. Javon Small, who currently leads the team overall in scoring averaging 17.6 points per game, finished the game on Saturday with 12 points, four rebounds and six assists.
As a team, ECU is shooting 44.3% from the field, 33.6% from the three-point line and 69.0% from the free throw line, averaging 73.5 points per game. The team averages 35.9 rebounds, 6.0 steals and 2.7 blocks.
ECU is coached by Michael Schwartz, who joined the Pirates in March of 2022. Schwartz spent the last seven seasons at Tennessee under Head Coach Rick Barnes, including four seasons as the Associate Head Coach.
Panther Notes
First Program Win Over Top-100 Ken-Pom Opponent
Furman ranked 85th prior to the Panthers defeating the Paladins 85-82.
Best start to a season in D1 Program History
Through the first nine games of the season, the Panthers were 8-1 overall and 5-0 at the Qubein Center. This recorded the best start to a men's basketball season since becoming Division I in 1999.
House Leads Big South
Jaden House sits atop the poll for scoring in the Big South, averaging 21.5 points per game.
Brought the Hardware Back to N.C.
After defeating Central Michigan in the first round of the SoCal Challenge Sand Division 68-67, the Panthers took the 77-72 victory over Tennessee State in the Championship game. HPU brought back the surfboard to North Carolina, claiming the Sand Division title in the second year of the SoCal Challenge.
House Makes Lou Henson Award Watch list
Jaden House was named to the Lou Henson National Player of the Year Watch List on Tuesday, November 22nd. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I basketball, which honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons. Henson was the winningest coach at both institutions.
First Mid-American Conference Win
For the first time in program history, HPU defeated a team from the MAC conference. The only other MAC team that High Point has competed against was Western Michigan twice.
House Top 20 in scoring
House's 21.2 points per game puts him in the top 20 overall in the country in scoring. He currently sits in 13th overall.
Thiam's Seven Three's-Third in Program History
In the win over Lees-McRae,
Abdoulaye Thiam punched seven three pointers to sit third in program history in a single game.
House's 30-Piece Records New
Career-High
After recording a career-high 23 against the Falcons, House blew that out the water with a 33-point game on Saturday. House shot 66.7% from the field and 91.7% from the line. After Saturday's performance, House stated "We have a lot of guys that can come in and score points, and I guess tonight was just my night."
Special Guest Harry Giles III
Winston-Salem native, Harry Giles III made a guest appearance at Monday night's game. The former Duke Blue Devil and NBA 1st round draft pick cheered on the Panthers in their 109-71 victory and mingled with the team after the game.
Thiam Drops 23 in Debut
Abdoulaye Thiam kicked off his High Point career with a bang, dropping 23 points, two rebounds and one assist. The sharpshooter went 8-for-15 from and field and knocked down 3-of-6 shots from behind the arc. The Minnesota transfer wowed the crowd with his high-flying windmill dunk early in the first half. After Saturday's performance Thiam stated " It felt really great because I did not have this opportunity where I was at so having a team that trust in me, that knows what I can do, and just come in and play and allows me to be me, made it a good experience."
Mr. Austin
Zack Austin was named to the Big South Preseason First Team. 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 also 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.
#OurCityOurUniversity x #GoHPU
