GREENSBORO, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team met up with in-state foe Appalachian State University at neutral site, Novant Health Fieldhouse at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. After going down 15 points in the first half, the Panthers relied on defense and grit to pull out the 65-59 comeback win over the Mountaineers.
"In the first half they really dared us to shoot the basketball, and we had a hard time doing it," Head Coach
Alan Huss stated. "We adjusted at half time, and I thought we were a little better offensively. We were grimy defensively and they were physical. Terry was the key to everything tonight, he really got us going when Kimani got in foul trouble. He needed to see a couple shots go in the basket and I thought he got to do that today and gain a little bit of confidence."
Site: Novant Health Fieldhouse at Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Score: High Point 65, App State 59
Records: High Point (10-2), App State (6-4)
In the first half High Point struggled to buy a basket, only scoring four points through the first 13 minutes of play. Although the offense was not clicking, HPU's defense stayed strong and forced the Mountaineers to take tough shots. With seven minutes to go in the first half, the Panthers trailed by 15 at 19-4.
Abdoulaye Thiam cashed in the first three of the game for High Point at the 4:50 mark to help spark some life on the offensive end. A three pointer from
Bobby Pettiford cut the game under 10 points with one minute to go in the first half. The Panthers trailed 29-20 at the break.
Opening the second half, High Point jumped out on a 7-0 run to cut the game to 29-27 in the first two minutes.
Terry Anderson had a sequence of plays that helped the Panthers take the lead for the first time since HPU's first basket of the game. A three-pointer in the corner made it 32-30, HPU followed by a layup in the lane to make it 36-32.
During a three-minute span, High Point maintained momentum with quality possessions that capitalized on the scoreboard. HPU held a steady 4–6-point lead before going up by nine at 48-39 with under 10 minutes to go in the game.
App State stayed consistent on its offensive end by getting to the paint and the free throw line to close the game to two-points at the two-minute mark. In three straight possessions for the Panthers, Pettiford had an impact in each possession. He first drawled two defenders to him to create a wide-open back door layup for
D'Maurian Williams. Pettiford then scored on a driving layup at the 46 second mark to put the Panthers back up by four at 61-57. A layup from the Mountaineers cut the game back to a one possession game with 38 seconds to go. With the ball in Pettiford's hands, he waited for the shot clock to wind down before exploding to the basket. Going up off two feet, Pettiford went in for the two-handed jam and extended HPU's lead back up to four, 64-59 with 11 seconds left on the clock.
App State attempted a layup in the paint and missed which forced the Mountaineers to foul immediately after Williams secured the rebound. Williams splashed in both free throws to end the game, 64-59.
This was the first time this season that High Point has not had a player score in double-figures. The Panthers were led by
Kezza Giffa,
Simon Hildebrandt and Thiam with nine points each. Forty of HPU's 65 points were scored from the bench.
UP NEXT:
High Point welcomes Carolina University to the Qubein Center on Tuesday, December 17 for a 7:00 p.m. game.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
