CHARLESTON, S.C. – The High Point men's basketball team took a mid-week trip down to Charleston, South Carolina to face the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern in the team's first matchup this season. The Panthers could not get the ball rolling throughout the game and fell 69-106 at the Buc Dome. HPU was led by
Jaden House with 23 points and with four rebounds.
Site: Buc Dome
Score: High Point 69, Charleston Southern 106
Records: High Point (8-9,0-5) Charleston Southern (7-9,3-2)
Jaden House opened the game with a three-pointer to take the first lead of the game in what ended up being the Panthers only lead of the game.
Zack Austin knocked down a three from the wing off a pass from
Bryson Childress to make it 10-21.
The Buccaneers kept up the tempo and pressed on to a 19-point lead, mid-way through the first half.
The Panthers were unable to break below the 20-point differential in the first as
Sam Perez closed out the half with a jump shot inside the paint.
Leading the way after the first half was
Jake Koverman with nine points, collecting six of the nine points off back-to-back threes.
Following the first half, the Buccaneers had taken five more shots than the Panthers, shooting right at 60% to HPU's 43.3%. High Point acquired 11 turnovers to Charleston Southerns' eight, but the Buccaneers were able to convert 20 points off the turnovers and 14 points off second chance rebounds after out rebounding the Panthers 23-12.
In the second half, House tried to kick it in gear for the team, scoring the first six points for High Point.
Charleston Southern struggled to miss in the second half, especially from three-point range, pushing on to a 44-point margin.
In the final four minutes of play, Perez and Childress knocked down threes before the final buzzer.
High Point ended the game shooting 45.6% to Charleston Southern's 58.6% while out rebounding the Panthers 44-25.
Both Perez and Koverman scored season-highs as Perez went 2-for-5 from the field with seven points and Koverman went 3-for-5 with nine points.
Up Next: High Point returns to the Qubein Center on Saturday, January 14
th to host Presbyterian at 7:00 PM. The Panthers will host their "Paint it Purple Night".
#GoHPU
