HIGH POINT, N.C. -
Kezza Giffa recorded 29 points, and
Kimani Hamilton scored a career-high 26 points to lead the way for the Panthers as the High Point men's basketball team recorded its eighth win in a row, 86-79, over the Charleston Southern Buccaneers on Saturday night despite the absence of
Duke Miles.
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 86, Charleston Southern 79
Records: High Point (16-4, 5-0), Charleston Southern (6-12, 2-3)
Head Coach Alan Huss: "I am really proud of our effort. Even though we were not perfect, I thought our guys' effort was tremendous tonight. Hats off to Charleston Southern, I thought we had a chance to really blow them out late in the first half but they really took our best shot there. They really rebounded, and bounced back and made things very difficult for us."
High Point came into the game without the Big South Conference's second-leading scorer, Miles. The red-hot Giffa got the starting nod to fill in for Miles' absence.
Giffa and the Panthers came out firing early as they started the game off on a 14-4 run.
Hamilton and
Abdoulaye Thiam found their shot rhythm early on as they each knocked down a pair of baskets to get the momentum rolling for High Point.
Giffa was phenomenal in the first half as he was attacking the basket, drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. His 17-point first half performance helped the Panthers go up by as many as 17 points in the first half.
Charleston Southern came storming back as they closed the first half on a 10-2 run.
Despite the Buccaneers comeback, High Point led at the end of the half, 47-38.
The Buccaneers' success from the first half continued into the second as they went on a 29-11 run within the first six minutes to take their first lead since the 18:35 mark in the first half, 57-56.
As Giffa and Hamilton were hitting big time shots down the stretch, the Buccaneers kept responding to every High Point basket as the two teams went back-and-forth the rest of the game.
A Giffa and-one, three-point play put High Point up by three points with 3:58 remaining.
"I thought we made the plays down the stretch," Coach Huss added. "I thought Kezza did a nice job of getting to the foul line and getting us in the right stuff offensively."
A pair of clutch three-point baskets from Thiam and Hamilton helped extend the Panthers' lead and seal the win for High Point, 86-79.
Giffa flourished in his role as he recorded a game-high 29 points on 7-19 shooting from the court overall and 13-15 from the free-throw line, to go along with five assists, and four rebounds in nearly 38 minutes played.
"I am pretty aggressive. I can shoot. I can drive, and I just try to do my job," said Giffa.
Giffa has recorded at least 24 points in four out of his last five games.
To go along with Giffa's 29, Hamilton added a career-high 26 points, and Thiam added 16 to fill in for the missing 19.4 points per game from Miles.
Despite the Panthers shooting 40.6 percent from the court overall and 28.6 percent from the three-point line, High Point extends its winning streak to eight games, and its home record to 11-0 on the season.
"It is always nice to be home," Coach Huss commented. "We are able to spend a lot of time shooting in here. We did not shoot the ball particularly well tonight but it is always great to be home, and I thought the home crowd just keeps getting better."
Up Next: High Point will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on USC Upstate on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
#GoHPU
