CHARLESTON, S.C. – On Wednesday night, the High Point University men's basketball team traveled to Charleston Southern University for a mid-week Big South matchup. After a strong first half, the Panthers kept the momentum and took to a 93-79 victory for the team's first road conference win of the season.
"Charleston Southern is an excellent team that has battled injuries all season long," Head Coach
Alan Huss stated. "I am pleased that our guys found a way to get the job done on the road tonight. I am even more excited to get back on the practice floor tomorrow and begin preparing for Gardner Webb."
Site: Buccaneer Fieldhouse
Score: High Point 93, Charleston Southern 79
Records: High Point (14-4, 2-1), Charleston Southern (5-13, 1-2)
High Point was led by four Panthers in double figures.
Kezza Giffa dropped 22 points,
D'Maurian Williams had 17 points,
Kimani Hamilton had 15 points and
Bobby Pettiford posted 10 points.
Juslin Bodo Bodo led the team in rebounds with 10 recording his eighth game this season with 10+ rebounds.
The Panthers put the pressure on the Buccaneers defense by driving to the basket. Securing the first three baskets in the lane, HPU took to a 9-4 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Charleston Southern quickly knocked down back-to-back three-pointers and closed the game back to one point at 11-10.
High Point picked up the tempo and scored on three straight possessions to advance to a 17-10 lead off a pull up jumper from Williams.
In four straight possessions,
Simon Hildebrandt played a big role in helping extend High Point's lead to 12. He first pulled up with a jump shot of his own before finding
Abdoulaye Thiam on a backdoor layup. On the third trip down the court, Hildebrandt knocked down a three from the wing before connecting on another jump shot in the lane to make it 26-12 with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
In the next five minutes of action, the Panthers held on to the 14-point lead with a Giffa three-pointer to make it 35-21 at the 5:14 mark. High Point remained steady through the final minutes of the first half, closing it out with a quick three on the wing from
Chase Johnston to make it 44-30 at the break.
Keeping the momentum from the first half, HPU took a 19-point lead with another three from Johnston in transition. At the 14:53 mark the Panthers took their largest lead of the game at 61-40 after Williams knocked down two free throws from the charity stripe.
High Point remained steady on the offensive end, attacking the basket for high quality shots while getting to the line. The Panthers made it difficult for the Buccaneers to make a run, not allowing CSU to close the gap to under 10 points. With under a minute to go in the game, the Buccaneers closed it to 89-79 and attempted to foul. The Panthers closed out the final minute 100% from the line to earn the 93-79 victory.
UP NEXT:
High Point returns to the Qubein Center on Saturday, January 11 for a 7:00 p.m. game against Gardner-Webb University.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
