HIGH POINT, N.C.- High Point men's basketball added another win to the win column against the Spartans of USC Upstate Saturday evening. The Panthers defeated the Spartans 81-66.
Coach G.G. Smith – "I thought our guys brought a lot of energy and came out ready to play. We came out to a great start which gave us a lot of confidence going up like that. We played with a lot of poise and composure and we are super excited about the win and are going to enjoy this one".
The Panthers started the game off with a bang with Jaden House netting a three-pointer on the first possession, followed by an Ahmard Harvey put-back.
Zack Austin was doing Zack Austin things. Austin's poster-worthy dunk over multiple Spartan players got the Qubein Arena on their feet early.
High Point took a 9-4 lead going into the first timeout. Emanuel Izunabor threaded the needle to assist Austin coming out of the break.
Jaden House got on the board, scoring two points of his own, before dishing to Austin for another slam. Austin then netted a three-ball to put the Panthers on top 16-11.
Bryson Childress hit a deep three to keep the scoring run active, followed up by an Abdoulaye Thiam pull-up jumper from the foul line.
Bryant Randleman made a spin move through the lane to add two points after USC Upstate was called for goal-tending and Bryson Childress hit another three with a hand in his face before going into the halftime break up by eight.
High Point went into the locker room shooting 55% from the field with eight fast-break points, 24 points in the paint, and four points from behind the arc.
The Panthers were firing at the start of the second half with two made-triples from Austin and Thiam in the first four minutes, to take their largest lead of the game.
The Spartans put on some pressure to cut the lead to 11, but High Point did not let off the gas on the other end.
Harvey and Randleman added four points in the paint and Thiam stole and scored a nifty layup to get the energy back in the building.
Thiam followed up his steal and score with a three-point bucket to make it 65-54.
With just under three minutes remaining in the contest, Jaden House swished a three and netted a layup to push the lead back to double-digits.
Abdoulaye Thiam absolutely electrified the crowd hitting consecutive buckets, including another three, to ice the win and give himself a career-high.
Thiam ended with a season and career-high 24 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Jaden House had 18 points, two rebounds, and five assists, and Zack Austin tallied 15 points, three rebounds, and an assist.
UP NEXT: The Panthers are back in the Qubein Arena this Wednesday, February 22nd to take on Radford. Tip-off is set for 7:00 P.M.
#GoHPU
