Estero, Fla. – In the opening game of the Gulf Coast Showcase, High Point picked up a dominant win over Iona, 82-68 inside Hertz Arena.
Playing in his home state of Florida,
Abdoulaye Thiam put on a show, dropping 27 points for a new career high. The sophomore shooting guard played an all-around excellent game, going 8-for-11 from the field, 4-for-6 from deep range and a perfect 7-for-7 from the line. Active on defense, Thiam was all over the court diving for loose balls and rebounds, picking up five in the end.
"We did an excellent job handling a very difficult pressure defense package by Iona," head coach
Alan Huss commented. "Additionally, I was pleased with the way we competed on defense and on the glass. We look forward to another difficult test tomorrow."
Site: Hertz Arena
Score: High Point 82, Iona 68
Records: High Point (2-2), Iona (1-2)
High Point set the tone early, jumping out to a 12-point lead with five early threes from the combination of
Duke Miles,
Kimani Hamilton,
Trae Benham and Thiam.
The Panthers sticky active defense and high energy helped the team maintain a large lead at 23-10 mid-way through the first half. With five minutes left to go in the opening frame, Hamilton converted on two back-to-back layups to put HPU up by 15, making it the largest gap thus far of the game.
Iona made a slight run in the final four minutes of the first, closing the game from a 17-point gap down to nine to make it 41-32 at the break.
High Point did not hold back in the second half and cruised to a 24-point lead at the 10-minute mark. The Panthers knocked down multiple shots from deep to boost up the score, including shots from Miles, Thiam and
Cade Potter.
HPU's defense remained strong through the final 10 minutes of action with big time blocks from
Juslin Bodo Bodo, who ended the game with three total. High Point finished the game with the 82-68 victory over the Gaels.
Overall HPU dominated in multiple areas of the game. The Panthers out rebounded the Gaels, 39-28 and added 12 points off second chance rebounds compared to Iona's seven. HPU went to the line 30 times knocking down 21 free throws compared to the Gaels 21 attempts only hitting 15.
UP NEXT:
High Point will play the winner of the Illinois State vs Long Beach State game on Tuesday, November 21 at 5:00 PM.
#GoHPU
