HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men's basketball team welcomed the Jacksonville University Dolphins to High Point for the first time since 2000. Led by
Cam'Ron Fletcher with 18 points and
Terry Anderson with 17 points, the Panthers' second half efficiency stretched HPU's lead to give High Point the 21-point victory over the Dolphins, 85-64.
Fletcher and Anderson have now led the Panthers in back-to-back games. Anderson's 17 points was the most points he has scored since becoming a Panther during the 2024-25 season. Along with Fletcher and Anderson,
Chase Johnston and
Conrad Martinez contributed with double-figures as Johnston went 4-for-7 from three-point range with 12 points and Martinez added 10 points. Helping navigate the offense was starting point guard
Rob Martin who dished out six assists and nine points. As a team, the Panthers shot 43.5% from the field, 33.3% from the three and 76.7% from the free throw line which is HPU's best percentage thus far this season from the line.
"The first half was not ideal," Head Coach
Flynn Clayman stated, "but what this group does is they respond. I asked them at half time to respond and we came out in the second half and had a much better effort. My message to them after the game was, if we are going to do something special we have to make sure we are ready from the jump."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 85, Jacksonville 64
Records: High Point (3-0), Jacksonville (1-2)
The game got off to a quick start as both teams scored 10+ points just three and a half minutes into the action. High Point trailed early, falling behind 14-10 after Jacksonville's Enrico Borio cashed in a layup. The 14-10 mark was the largest deficit of the game for the Panthers. Two free throws from Fletcher made it 14-12, which became the last moment in the game that the Panthers would trail behind.
Anderson came across the top of the key and drove left-handed down the lane and throw down a one-handed dunk to tie the game at 14 all. The dunk erupted the crowd and amped up HPU's defense, leading to a 10-0 run for the Panthers and forcing a Jacksonville timeout. In the midst of the run,
Braden Hausen confidently swished in a three-pointer from the High Point logo in his defender's face while drawing the and-one foul. Going to the line for one, he capitalized on the four-point play.
Following Jacksonville's timeout, the Dolphins came out and packed into a zone, in an attempt to slow down High Point's fast-paced offense. Adjusting to the defense, the Panthers moved the ball around the perimeter and found shooters like Johnston to knock down the three and bust the zone. Johnston knocked down two threes in back-to-back possessions for the Panthers to give High Point a 35-25 lead with 4:53 to go in the first half.
HPU closed out the first half with multiple baskets from Anderson, who led the first half with 11 points. The Panthers went into the break leading 44-37.
Opening the second half, the three-point shots caught fire as Johnston connected on back-to-back threes to make it 52-37 and Fletcher followed with another pair of threes to make it 60-41.
A large part in High Point's early lead was the focus on the defensive end. The Panthers tightened up the defense in the second half and forced eight turnovers on the Dolphins which converted to 13 points with the help of four steals. HPU took care of the ball and only registered one turnover in the second half and three total for the game.
With 11:46 to go in the game, Anderson drove inside the lane and picked up the and-one basket. Knocking down the free throw for the old fashioned three-point play, Anderson gave High Point its largest lead thus far of the night, 68-46.
HPU held its lead as Martinez found Fletcher sneaking in on the backside for an alley-oop to make it 72-52 at the 8:35 mark. Continuing to dominate around the glass, High Point extended its lead to 25 points with two minutes left in the game after freshman forward
Caden Miller powered through for a turnaround jumper.
High Point won 85-64 against Jacksonville, earning its first victory in program history over the Dolphins.
UP NEXT:
High Point travels to the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Friday, November 14 for a matchup with the Blazers at 6:30 p.m.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
