High Point, N.C. – It was a purple versus purple match up on Tuesday night inside the Qubein Center as the High Point men's basketball team hosted the Western Carolina Catamounts. Trekking on a big lead from the jump, the Panthers never let off the gas and pushed on to a 97-71 victory.
"I'm genuinely pleased with our guys," Head Coach
Alan Huss commented. "You saw the end result tonight of a very difficult two-day stretch for our players. We took Sunday off after traveling back from North Florida and had to prepare for an extremely talented and well-coached Western Carolina team on one-days' worth of prep. Our guys' ability to take the game plan and put it into play and execute it was everything."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 97, Western Carolina 71
Records: High Point (7-3), Western Carolina (6-2)
Five Panthers finished the game in double figures as HPU was led by
Duke Miles for the sixth game this season with 25 points. A key component for High Point was getting to the line and knocking down free throws (24-26, 92.3%) against a sticky defensive team.
The Panthers pushed the pace of the game and attacked on every opportunity. Picking up seven steals on the defensive end, HPU converted with 19 points off Western Carolina's turnovers.
Along with the high percentage in free throw shooting, another key factor of the game was sharing the ball and handing out 17 assists.
"They're one of the best teams in the country at not allowing assists," coach Huss added. "We created 17 assists tonight against them which is very uncommon. We did it by playing an off-ball action. We're one of the most ball screen and dribble hand-off on-ball action centric teams in the country and our ability to play an off-ball action really put them in some difficult situations defensively."
After being up nine at the mid-way point in the first half, the Panthers went on an 11-0 run to go up by 21 points with just under four minutes to go. A three-pointer from
Trae Benham extended it to 24 points making it the largest lead of the half. A drive to the basket for Miles at the buzzer ended the first 20 minutes of action with a score of 47-25.
Coming off the bench,
Cade Potter impacted the first half, scoring all 10 of his points. Playing an inside-outside game, he knocked down a three-pointer and three shots inside the paint.
In the second half, the Catamounts came out and applied more on-ball pressure.
"They had a couple small pesky guards," Potter commented, "and players like that, they're dawgs. You put a dog in the corner and we're up 20, they're going to fight, and they fought. We responded and we responded with our minds. Coach Huss gave us a play that we had to run down the stretch, and we ran that same play four times. We got the shot we wanted every time and we scored every time and that's what sealed the game. It all goes back to us executing in the position that our coaching staff put us in to win."
Remaining focused in the process, High Point only let the gap close to 15 points at the 13-minute mark. The Panthers took advantage of getting to the line by knocking down 15 free throws in the final 11 minutes of play.
Up Next:
High Point remains at home, welcoming the crosstown neighbor, NC A&T to the Qubein Center for a non-conference match up on Friday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm on December 8.
#GoHPU
