High Point, N.C. – In front of 4,069 fans at the Qubein Center, the High Point men's basketball team put on a show with an 84-79 win over the defending 2022-23 Big South Champs, UNC Asheville. With the students back in town, the Panthers rocked the all black uniforms for the "Black Out Night" theme, led by
Duke Miles with 28 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
"Credit to an excellent UNC Asheville basketball team," Head Coach
Alan Huss stated. "That's the team that was picked to win the league and they showed you why. They were very disruptive on the defensive end, and I thought Pember was tremendous. They just make you make some really difficult decisions defensively."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 84, UNC Asheville 79
Records: High Point (14-4, 3-0), UNC Asheville (10-8, 2-1)
After trailing in the first five minutes of action, HPU never lost site of the lead. Leaking on an 11-2 run in the first half, the Panthers knocked down three straight threes followed by a
Juslin Bodo Bodo dunk to take a 12-point lead at 25-13.
Extending the lead to 15,
Abdoulaye Thiam splashed in a three on a fast break with just under eight minutes left in the first. The Bulldogs slowly chipped away at the gap, closing the game to a three-point spread at the break.
Thiam opened the second half on a roll, scoring three straight lay-ups to help HPU take a 48-40 lead. Through the next nine minutes of action, High Point stayed steady, holding above a seven-point lead.
A three-pointer by UNC Asheville closed the game to five points with four minutes left to go. Pember kept it interesting knocking down two free throws to make it a one-point game with a minute and 44 seconds, which was the closest margin in the game since the opening minutes of tip-off.
After an HPU turnover,
Kimani Hamiton blocked a lay-up by Pember and forced an inbounds throw in with two seconds left on the shot clock for the Bulldogs. Hamilton secured the defensive rebound off a UNC Asheville missed jumper and found Miles to set up the offense. Miles rejected the high ball screen and drove down the left lane for an easy bucket off the glass to make it 78-75 with 50 seconds left.
With the entire arena on standing, Miles added the cherry on top, picking up a steal off a left handed drive in the lane by Pember. Going coast-to-coast, he laid it up and over the rim for a five-point lead with 37 seconds left.
"I give my praise to my teammates," Miles commented. "They put me in the right position to make those big plays and I got that steal at the end. If coach didn't tell Laye to press up on Pember, I wouldn't get that steal. It's more of a team thing and I can't make that play without my teammates."
UNC Asheville remained in the fight, knocking down a three to make it 82-79 with 15 seconds left on the clock. Miles knocked in both free throws after a foul by the Bulldogs, sealing the deal for the victory.
"All these things were going on," Huss added, "and I thought the guys really figured out that it was time. It was time to draw a line and play without fouling and figure out a way to get a stop in critical moments and we got two big ones in a row there.
"Coach preaches every day on togetherness, toughness and being more connected and talking more," Miles stated. "As one of the leaders and one of the guys of this team, we came together, and we knew we had to get a stop. Like coach said, the more connected team always wins, and we knew we needed to play together more than anything."
The biggest threat in the UNC Asheville offense was stopping the 2022-23 Big South Player of the Year, Drew Pember. Leading the league in scoring averaging 19.6 points per game, Pember quietly led the Bulldogs with 36 points.
"I thought Laye Thiam did a really nice job trying to defend Pember tonight," Huss commented. Even though Pember had 36 points, Laye did a really nice job trying to defend him on an island in a number of situations, both inside and out."
Overall the statistical analysis between the teams following the game was very even. The difference came down to free throws. HPU went 34-for-39 from the line while UNCA went 24-for-31. Three Panthers finished in double-figures, including Thiam (18),
Trae Benham (16) and Hamilton (10). Bodo Bodo led the team on the boards with 14, picking up five on the offensive end.
"Down the stretch I thought the students really gave us a lift and I thought the crowd was terrific," Huss said. "We are all learning how this thing is all going to fit together, and we just hope more and more people come out and see this because that was a pretty neat college basketball atmosphere and a high-level basketball game for fans to watch."
HPU handed the Bulldogs their first loss against a conference opponent since February 4, 2023, ending an 11 game conference win streak. UNC Asheville only suffered two Big South conference regular season losses last season.
Up Next:
High Point has a week off of games until January 17 with a road trip to Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.
#GoHPU
