HIGH POINT, N.C. - Despite 16 points from
Trae Benham,
Abdoulaye Thiam and
Duke Miles, the High Point men's basketball team lost their first home game of the season on Wednesday night to USC Upstate, 86-81.
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Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 81, USC Upstate 86
Records: High Point (21-6, 10-2), USC Upstate (9-16, 4-8)
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Head Coach Alan Huss: "Clearly disappointed with the outcome. Credit to Upstate for being the aggressor down the stretch and making critical plays. Poor coaching on my part… We allowed them to score six points in the last 20 seconds there. Two really great looks for three, they executed, they made plays and we just did not. I am disappointed with our prep for this game more than anything else… I am disappointed for our guys. We very well could have cost ourselves a conference championship tonight and that part is a really tough pill to swallow right now."
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Thiam drained a three-pointer to put the Panthers in the scoring column on their first possession of the game. He stayed hot and scored nine of the team's first eleven points to help HPU jump out to an early 11-5 lead.
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Juslin Bodo Bodo dominated the offensive boards in the first half as he finished the half with four offensive rebounds.
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Titas Sargiunas found an open Benham from beyond the arc to give HPU its largest lead of the game, 23-12.
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Benham knocked down back-to-back three-pointers including an and-one, four-point play to help High Point go on a 14-5 run and extend its lead to 20 points, 37-17.
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Kimani Hamilton got Panther fans up and on their feet as he forced a turnover on one end and slammed down a two-handed jam on the other end.
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HPU was unable to score a bucket in the final four minutes of the first half as USC Upstate closed the half off on a 12-0 run.
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Despite USC Upstate's scoring run and four turnovers in the final 3:37 of the first half, HPU led at the end of the first 20 minutes, 39-31.
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Miles ended a 13-0 run from USC Upstate with a turnaround jumper for High Points first bucket of the second half.
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The Panthers pushed their lead back up to double-digits, 45-33, after Thiam drilled his third three-pointer of the game.
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Kezza Giffa got the momentum back rolling for HPU as he found Hamilton for the two-handed slam, and then converted an acrobatic layup plus a foul on the team's next possession up the court.
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A 10-4 scoring run from USC Upstate tied the game up at 53 with 8:15 remaining in the second half.
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The Panthers' turnover struggles from the first half continued into the second as they turned the ball over nine times in the first 15 minutes of the half.
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Miles put the Panthers back up by a point, 59-58, with a hard attack to the basket and finish.
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Benham hit a clutch three-pointer from the left corner to give him 16 points on the game and the Panthers a four-point lead, 62-58.
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USC Upstate rallied back from a six-point deficit to tie the game up at 70 and force overtime.
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The Spartans started the overtime period off on a 9-3 run before Miles knocked down back-to-back baskets including an and-one, step-back three-pointer to tie the game back up at 79 with 1:33 remaining.
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HPU had an opportunity to tie the game back up but could not capitalize on its opportunity as the Panthers struggled to shoot the ball in overtime, going 3-9 from the court overall and 1-4 from the three-point line, dropping their first home game and second conference game of the season, 86-81.
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Benham, Thiam and Miles each led the way in scoring for High Point with 16 points, and Hamilton was the team's fourth double-figure scorer as he contributed with 13.
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Bodo dominated on both ends of the court as he recorded eight points, 18 rebounds including eight offensive rebounds, and four blocks.
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"He [Bodo] just keeps getting better… He was really good. We did not give him enough help and that is what it really comes down to. He did his part but we just have to have some other guys help him a little bit," said Huss.
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Up Next: High Point hosts Radford University on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
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#GoHPU
