ASHEVILLE, N.C. – High Point University men's basketball hit the road for the first time in Big South Conference play with a game at UNC Asheville. After a long, high scoring game of back-and-forth action between the teams, the Panthers fell 103-99.
Site: Kimmel Arena
Score: High Point 99, UNCA 103
Records: High Point (13-3, 1-1), UNC Asheville (9-5, 1-0)
High Point opened the game strong with three-pointers, going 4-6 as a team to score HPU's first 14 points after an early layup from
Kezza Giffa. The fourth three of the game, and
Simon Hildebrandt's first basket, gave the Panthers the 14-9 lead at the 16:18 minute mark.
UNC Asheville quickly closed the gap and made it a one-point game after connecting on two straight possessions. Through the next six minutes of action, both teams exchanged baskets to keep the game within a point or two for either team. A strong take from
Kimani Hamilton down the lane tied the game at 23 all with just under 10-minutes to go in the first half.
Hamilton's layup at the 10-minute mark initiated a 6-0 run for the Panthers as
Bobby Pettiford scored on a driving layup, Hamilton threw down a dunk and
D'Maurian Williams secured a jumper off an offensive rebound. The Panthers held on to the six-point lead until under seven minutes left.
With four minutes to go in the first half, UNC Asheville chipped away and took its first lead since tying the game at 23 all with back-to-back three-point shots from Fletcher Abee to make it 37-35 UNCA. From there HPU trailed through the last four minutes of the first half before going into the locker room down 47-43.
Williams kicked off the second half with a layup and a three-pointer to put the Panthers up by one point after just a minute of action. UNC Asheville retook the lead and went up by four, but a shot clock buzzer beater three from Williams put HPU back within one-point before the first media timeout.
Through a four-minute stretch, High Point trailed and went down by as many as 13 points with 11:40 left to go in the game. The Panthers continued to trail by 10 with five and a half minutes to go.
Not giving up, High Point made strides in each possession and cut the game to six with three and a half minutes left on the clock. Hildebrandt came up big knocking down a three pointer to make it a one possession game, 88-85 at the 2:56 mark. Getting a defensive stop, High Point's
Kezza Giffa went coast-to-coast and secured the and-one layup. Sinking the free throw, the Panthers tied the game at 88 all with two and a half minutes to play.
In the next minute of action, High Point was unable to get defensive stops on the opposite end and allowed UNCA to go on a 7-0 run. HPU scored in multiple possessions before closing the gap to a two-point game with an old school three-point play from Pettiford to make it 99-97 with 32 seconds to go. UNCA drawled a foul and went one-for-two at the free throw line giving the Panthers an opportunity to tie the game with 23 seconds left in the game.
High Point was unable to connect on a shot in the final seconds and had to foul. UNCA knocked down both free throws, resulting in the 103-99 loss for the Panthers.
Five Panthers scored in double figures led by
Bobby Pettiford with 24 points, tying his career-high. Pettiford also led the game in assists with four and eclipsed his 200th career assist in the first half.
As a team, High Point went 27-for-30 from the free throw line and 8-for-31 from three-point range. The Panthers out rebounded the Bulldogs 40-34 but committed 10 turnovers compared to UNCA's two, which allowed the Bulldogs to earn 14 of their points off turnovers.
UP NEXT:
High Point remains on the road and travels to Charleston, S.C. for a Big South matchup at Charleston Southern University on Wednesday, January 8. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
