Box Score HIGH POINT, N.C.- High Point men's basketball set the Qubein Center on fire in a mid-week matchup against the Winthrop Eagles. The Panthers, who are coming off of their first conference win against Presbyterian last Saturday, added another tally in the win column defeating the Eagles, 71-66.
Coach G.G. Smith: "Obviously we are very happy with the win and I am really proud of our guys. The first half was our best defensive half all year. We finally rebounded the ball from the get-go. Zack came off the bench and gave us some great energy. He played well today, but he also probably just had his two greatest practices back-to-back this week. It was a total team effort and that was our plan."Â
The first 20 minutes were all High Point as they out-scored Winthrop 41-25 starting the game 9-0 and going 6-for-12 from deep. Bryant Randleman scored on two consecutive posessions, driving around the Eagle's defenders to finish a beautiful reverse layup. After a three-ball by Winthrop, Bryson Childress responded, netting his first three of the night to bring the energy back to the Panthers.Â
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Zack Austin dominated on the offensive end. Along with a few poster-worthy slams, Austin went into halftime with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal.Â
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Rebounding was huge in the first half with the Panthers out-rebounding the Eagles 27-12, 24 of them coming on the defensive end. 12 first-half buckets were assisted and 23 of the 41 points came off the bench.Â
Winthrop came out of halftime firing on all cylinders, cutting HPU's lead to just 1, but it wasn't long before the Panthers were back rolling. Zack Austin followed his drained three with a MJ-esque dunk and then a Thiam layup put High Point back on top by 8, forcing a Winthrop timeout.
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Randleman and Childress scored back-to-back mid-range jumpers as Austin held it down on the other end, adding his fifth block of the game.
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With just under three minutes remaining, the Panthers recorded two steals to maintain an 8-point lead. A missed three by Winthrop, two made High Point free-throws, and a swat by Austin on defense secured the win.
Four Panther players ended the night in double-figures. Abdoulaye Thiam contributed 11 points, Bryson Childress added 13 points, and Bryant Randleman had 12 points. Zack Austin shot 77.8% from the field adding 5 rebounds, 6 blocks, and a steal to go along with his team-high 19 points.
UP NEXT: The Panthers are back on the road for another conference matchup against Radford this Saturday, January 21st. Tip-off is set for 2:00 P.M.
#GoHPU
