FARMVILLE, VA. – In the opening night of the Big South Conference regular season, High Point made the trip up to Longwood for an afternoon game with the Lancers. The Panthers were unable to pull out the win, falling short 73-87.
Site: Willett Hall
Score: High Point 73, Longwood 87
Records: High Point (8-5),(0-1 BSC); Longwood (9-5),(1-0)
G.G. Smith - "Another tough loss to start conference play. Our guys made a good effort to cut the game to 2 with 3:30 minutes left. I thought Longwood showed their championship pedigree late the game. Wilkins displayed why he's one of the better players in the Big South. We have been on the road for a few weeks, excited to get back High Point for our conference home opener!"
High Point set out on a 7-2 lead in the first three minutes of play, but a few quick buckets for the Lancers would tie the game at seven all.
Maintaining the advantage, High Point went up six at the mid-way point after a three pointer on the wing from
Sam Perez.
The three ball was hot for Longwood as the team went 6-for-14 in the first half with Isaiah Wilkins going 4-for-4 himself, to add to his 5-for-5 overall.
The Lancers took their first lead of the day at the 6:28 mark to make it 23-21, Longwood.
Closing the gap to one,
Alex Holt found
Bryant Randleman cutting through the lane for an easy dump off at the three-minute mark. Just before the break, he Lancers managed to make a run, trekking on their largest lead of the first half, with a 12-0 push.
Longwood stretched their lead to 14 following the break, making it their largest lead of the game. The Panthers got it within eight points, 20 different times, with the lowest being a two-point deferential at the 3:49 mark.
A combination of three back-to-back buckets for the Panthers helped narrow the gap down to two, including a three-point from
Abdoulaye Thiam, an and-one basket from
Zack Austin and a lay-up from
Jaden House.
Still within three points with just under two minutes to go in the game, the Panthers could not stop the Lancer offense, allowing them to score five points before having to foul.
Knocking down their free throws in the last minute of play gave Longwood the 87-73 victory.
For the Panthers, Austin led the team with 18 points after going 7-for-12 overall and 4-for-4 from behind the arc. House finished with 13 points while contributing to six of the 12 boards between him and
Ahmard Harvey.
Up Next: High Point returns to the Qubein Center for their first home game since December 9
th as the Panthers welcome Gardner-Webb for their last game before the New Year. The tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.
#GoHPU
