HIGH POINT, N.C. – For the first time this season, the High Point men's basketball team played in front of a full crowd inside the Qubein Center. Opening the season with a home exhibition, the Panthers defeated the visiting Pfeiffer Falcons in high scoring fashion with a 113-90 victory.
Although the exhibition game does not count towards HPU's overall record, head coach
Alan Huss earned his first win as the new head coach for the Panthers. The night had many firsts including first time players wearing the HPU jersey and playing in front of fans. In their season debuts,
Kezza Giffa, the transfer from Daytona State and the true freshman,
Denzel Hines from Fontana, California, lead the night dropping 20+ points. Four other Panthers also reached double figures, showing for a well-balance distribution of the ball.
"Tonight was primarily about us trying to take a step forward," coach Huss stated. "Obviously when you are playing with a lot of new players, and even the returning players who were playing in a different system and in different roles, there is going to be some nervous energy and there certainly was tonight. Tonight was about us playing with discipline on both ends of the court, sharing the basketball and trying to install our pace of play. I thought we installed our pace of play like we wanted to by going up and down, but I was disappointed with our lack of discipline at times. I told the guys with the way our schedule is this year, we don't have a lot of time to feel sorry for ourselves and we will have to fix a few things tomorrow and get back at it on Monday."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 113, Pfeiffer 90
Records: High Point (0-0), Pfeiffer (0-0)
It was a slow start for the Panthers following the initial tip-off. Taking some time to get things going,
Abdoulaye Thiam broke away with a steal at mid-court for a big-time slam. This boosted the Panthers momentum and led to the team's first lead of the night at 15-13.
HPU fell behind for two possessions at 21-18 but pressed on through the remainder of the game and kept a steady lead. Before the end of the first half, the fan favorite
Bryson Childress pulled-up on the wing for a wide open three. Hitting nothing but net, the Panthers took their second largest lead of the night at 50-42.
The 7'0" starting center for HPU, put in the work around the glass. Just one board short of a double-double in his freshman debut,
Juslin Bodo Bodo picked up 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the team on the boards. The highlight of the night for Bodo Bodo was a full-court one-handed dunk off his defensive pass interception. His dunk ignited the fans and the bench in celebration with just six minutes left in play.
The Falcons stayed within reach through the first eight minutes of the second half, but a 15-8 run for the Panthers opened the game up to a 17-point gap.
Throughout the game,
Kimani Hamilton was a key factor for High Point on the drive, going three-for-three on three different and-one plays, he knocked in all three extra points from the line. Hamilton ended the night with 15 points and six rebounds after going 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-7 from the line.
The two leading scorers for the Panthers had a well-balanced game, scoring their points from all three areas of the floor. Giffa went 12-for-14 from the line and dished out a team-high five assists. Although Giffa considers himself to be a pass-first type of player, tonight he took what the defense gave him and drove to the basket to create scoring opportunities. Hines was also successful in multiple areas. He shot 54.5% from the field, 66.7% from the three and 77.8% from the line. He brought down six rebounds and added a block on the defensive end.
On HPU's 100th point of the game with a fast break lay-up by Giffa, the Panthers took their largest lead of the night with a 26-point margin.
Justin Taylor collected some easy buckets at the end to help High Point secure the 113-90 victory during Homecoming Weekend.
UP NEXT:
High Point returns to the Qubein Center on Monday night for the first official game of the regular season. The tip-off between St. Andrews and High Point is set for 7:00 P.M. This will be the team's third matchup with the Knights in program history since becoming division I in 1999.
#GoHPU
