HIGH POINT, N.C. – On Sunday afternoon, the High Point men's basketball team will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. against Norfolk State University inside the Qubein Center.
 
The Panthers welcome all youth campers back for a camper reunion and will sign autographs after the game.

Men's Basketball – Norfolk State University
Sunday, December 29 | 2 p.m. | High Point, N.C. | Qubein Center
Watch Live ESPN+ |  LiveStats

Records: High Point 12-2, NSU 8-6
This will be their first meeting

The Matchup
This will be the first meeting between the Panthers and Spartans. Norfolk State competes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and finished the 2023-24 season with a 24-11 overall record and a conference record of 11-3 to finish as the MEAC Regular Season Champs. The Spartans went on to play in the Colleginsider.com Post Season Tournament and were crowned the champs after defeating Purdue Fort Wayne in the finals. Currently, the Spartans are 8-6, led by Brian Moore, Jr. averaging 18.4 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game. As a team Norfolk State averages 75.5 points per game and are shooting 47.5% from the field. NSU is coached by Robert Jones who enters his 12th season as the head coach and 18th season with the program.

Last Time Out
It has been almost a week since the Panthers stepped foot on a court and almost two weeks since playing inside the Qubein Center. Before the Christmas break, High Point traveled to Carbondale, Illinois for a first-time meeting with Southern Illinois University. The Panthers took care of business and defeated the Salukis 94-81, leading to the teams most points scored against a DI opponent this season. As a team the Panthers shot 57.9% from the field and 35.0% from three-point range. HPU did not have its normal game at the line as the team went 21-for-32 for 65.6%. The Panthers were led by four players in double-figures including a season-high 24 points from D'Maurian Williams. Kezza Giffa tagged 19 points, Kimani Hamilton added 12 points and Bobby Pettiford had 10 points.

Notable Player & Team Notes

Broke DI Program Record for Non-Conference Wins
The Panthers broke the DI program non-conference wins record with their 12^th win of the season after defeating Southern Illinois before the break. The previous record was set last season in 2023-24 with 11 wins before starting conference play.
 
Williams Captures 1000th Point
D'Maurian Williams reached his 1000th career point on Tuesday night against Carolina U after knocking down his first three-point basket of the game.
 
Career Milestones on the Rise
Abdoulaye Thiam is at 980 points, Juslin Bodo Bodo is at 91 career blocks in his young career and Bobby Pettiford is at 196 assists.
 
Undefeated at Home
With Tuesday night's win over Carolina U, HPU advances to 8-0 inside the Qubein Center. The Panthers finished the home non-conference season in 2023-24 with an 8-0 record.
 
Top 10 - CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Rankings
In the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 rankings, High Point ranks No. 12 in the week seven rankings. The Panthers highest spot in the rankings thus far was 8th in week two.
 
CIC All-Tournament Team
Kezza Giffa was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 16 points, 3.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. He scored a week-high 23 points in the win over Old Dominion.

Pettiford Loves Thanksgiving Game Winners
In the final game of the Cayman Islands Classic, Bobby Pettiford secured the go ahead basket with 10 seconds left to go in the game. This was the third straight season that he scored a game winner in the game before Thanksgiving.

Best Start in DI History
The 5-0 start for High Point is the best start in Division I program history since becoming DI in 1999. In 2022-23, High Point started 3-0 before falling to UNLV in mid-November.

Giffa & Bodo Bodo on Lou Henson Watch List
The 2024-25 Lou Henson 'Early Season' Watch list has been announced as two players from the High Point University men's basketball team have earned recognition, Kezza Giffa and Juslin Bodo Bodo. Giffa was named a finalist in 2023-24 for the Lou Henson award after averaging 16.2 points per game, 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. 

Bracketeer.com Preseason All-American Awards
In the Bracketeer's Preseason All-American Watch List Kimani Hamilton was named a First Team recipient while Kezza Giffa was named to the second team.
 
Preseason Polls
On October 15th, the Big South Conference announced the Preseason Men's Basketball Poll for the upcoming 2024-25 season. High Point University was picked to finish 1st in the poll, while Kezza Giffa was named the Preseason Player of the Year, while Kimani Hamilton & Juslin Bodo Bodo were named to the first team.
 
New & Improved
Returning eight players from last year's roster, the Panthers added 12 newcomers with six transfers and six freshmen. The reigning Big South Regular Season Champions are ready to jump back into full action after a historic 27-win season led by first-year Head Coach Alan Huss in 2023-24.
 
HPU Stat Rankings Following 2023-24 Season
-9th in NCAA in PPG (83.9)
-1st in NCAA in Free Throws Made (20.1)
-6th in NCAA in Free Throws Attempted (25.8)
-15th in NCAA in Free Throw % (77.8)
-16th in NCAA in Rebounds (40.00)
-25th in NCAA in Win % (75%)
-Highest National Kenpom Ranking in Program History (114th)
-Highest National NET Ranking in Program History (110th)
-8th in Kenpom Raw Offensive Efficiency
-10th in Kenpom Offensive Rebound %
 
2023-24 Regular Season CHAMPS
HPU was named the outright Big South regular season champs for the first time since 2015-16. This was HPU's 5th Big South Regular-Season Title and the 2nd outright title.
 
2023-24 Season Recorded Most Wins in D1 Era
With a record of 27-9, the Panthers set the record for the most wins in a single-season.
 
2023-24 Season Was the Most Wins by a First-Year Head Coach
Coach Huss won the most wins as a first-year head coach in the entirety of the men's basketball program history. Also registered the most wins by a rookie head coach in the country last season.
 
Bodo Bodo Awards
Juslin bodo Bodo was named a National Freshman of the Year and a Kyle Macy Freshman of the Year Finalist in 2023-24.
 
Lou Henson Award Finalist
Giffa was named a Lou Henson Award Finalist in 2023-24.
 
2023-24 Big South Postseason Awards
Head Coach Alan Huss was named the Big South Coach of the Year becoming the 2nd coach in program history to earn the award (Scott Cherry). Duke Miles was named the Big South Newcomer of the Year and Juslin Bodo Bodo was named the Defensive and Freshman Player of the Year. Duke Miles, Kimani Hamilton & Kezza Giffa were named to the First Team All-Conference selections while Juslin Bodo Bodo and Titas Sargiunas were named to the All-Freshman team.