The High Point University men's basketball team welcomes Gardner-Webb to the Qubein Center after traveling for the past three games. The Panthers and Runnin' Bulldogs are set to faceoff at 2:00 PM with doors opening at 12:30 PM. High Point will be giving away snow globes to fans upon entrance to the game.
Game Info
Saturday, Dec. 31 -- VS Gardner-Webb (Qubein Center) 2:00 PM on ESPN+
Live Stats | Watch | Game Notes
Last Time Out
In the first game of conference play, the Panthers traveled to Longwood for a battle with the Lancers. High Point was unable to gain the advantage after closing the gap to two points with 3:30 left to play in the game, coming up short 73-87.
Zack Austin led the team with 18 points and three rebounds while
Jaden House followed with 13 points and six rebounds. Adding to the boards,
Ahmard Harvey also collected six boards to combined with house for 12 of the teams 29 rebounds. Isaiah Wilkins for the Lancers was hard to stop on offense as he went 5-for-5 from deep to register 25 points for Longwood. Overall, both teams tallied 27 made field goals, with the Lancers shooting 40.3% and High Point shooting 47.4%. The difference came at the free throw line as the Lancers went to the line 10 more times than the Panthers, knocking down 13 more.
Across the Bench
Following the first conference games of the season, Gardner-Webb holds an overall record of 6-7 with a Big South conference record of 1-0 after defeating Charleston Southern on Thursday, 83-63. The Runnin' Bulldogs were led by five players in double figures, including starting senior, Ludovic Dufeal with a career-high 16 points. In his 28 minutes of play, Dufeal went 7-for-8 from the field while adding six rebounds, one block and two steals. Caleb Robinson was also a key player for Gardner-Webb in their win over the Buccaneers, leading the team with 12 rebounds while also tab- bing a second team-high 14 points.
Overall the Runnin' Bulldogs are led by Anthony Seldon and Kareem Reid who average 11.9 and 11.6 points per game respectively. Of the team's starting five, Reid has the highest field goal per- centage, shooting 55.3%. He also leads the team overall on the boards, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game. As a team, Gardner-Webb is shooting 47.4% from the field, 32.2% from the three-point line and 65.6% from the free throw line, averaging 73.3 points per game. The team is strong on the boards, averaging 37.5 rebounds to their opponents 30.8. Active on defense, the team also collects 5.77 blocks per game compared to their opponents 2.92, to go along with 7.69 steals per game.
Gardner-Webb is coached by Tim Craft, who enters his 10th season with the Runnin' Bulldogs. Craft led the team to an overall record of 18-13 during the 2021-22 campaign finishing with a conference record of 11-5 to land second place overall in the Big South regular season, South Division.
Matchup History
High Point holds an overall record of 17-15 over Gardner-Webb with a home record of 8-5. In the 2021-22 season, the Runnin' Bulldogs and Panthers had one meeting between the two teams as HPU welcomed Gardner-Webb to the Qubein Center for the first time. After leading at the half by 11 points, Gardner-Webb ran away with the win in the second half, 57-65. The Runnin' Bulldogs were led by Reid with 14 points and Dufeal with 10.
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 are 8-1 overall and 5-0 at the Qubein Center. This records 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 20.5 points per game. Two Panthers also join House in the top 10 in scoring in the Big South, including
Abdoulaye Thiam (14.2 ppg) and
Zack Austin (14.7 ppg).
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 20.5 points per game puts him in the top 20 overall in the country in scoring. He currently sits in 14th 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.
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