HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team returned home and bounced back from its last game with a 93-50 win over non-conference opponent Canisius on Monday night in the second-ever matchup between the two programs.
Rob Martin led the way for the Panthers on both ends of the floor with 17 points and a season-high in assists with eight and steals with five to help the Panthers move to 4-1 on the season.
High Point last tipped off against Canisius on December 22, 2023, in a game that the Panthers won, 78-70, in the Qubein Center.
Head Coach Flynn Clayman: "I'm proud of the way we're protecting the ball again... 21 assists, six turnovers. We got back shooting the ball a little better. We can shoot it even better, but Chase and Braden combined for eight threes, Conrad throws in two more and we were eight out of 10 from the free-throw line… So overall good night and got to turn the page to UIC quickly as we leave for Daytona tomorrow."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 93, Canisius 50
Records: High Point (4-1), Canisius (2-3)
The Panthers got the crowd on its feet early. A Cam'ron Fletcher steal on the defensive end led to Martin finding him in transition on the offensive end for the thunderous one-handed slam to give HPU a quick 4-3 lead.
HPU quickly jumped out to a seven-point lead, 10-3, after Fletcher punched home a two-handed jam that was set up by a tremendous pass from
Owen Aquino to find Fletcher cutting baseline.
Back-to-back three-pointers from
Conrad Martinez that were both assisted by Martin extended the Panthers' lead, 24-9, with 8:26 remaining in the first half.
The incredible court vision from
Braden Hausen resulted in
Chase Johnston knocking down the team's third three-ball of the first half, this one from the right corner, to give High Point its largest lead of the game, 35-13.
High Point's leader in three-pointers made last season, Johnston, splashed three straight three-pointers to close out the first half for the Panthers, 46-17. Johnston led the way in the first 20 minutes of action with 12 points off four three-pointers. Martin totaled eight points, five assists and three steals. Martinez contributed eight points as well.
The Panthers forced 12 turnovers in the first half, compared to HPU's only two turnovers. High Point shot 54.5 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free-throw line on four attempts in the first half.
The halftime break did not faze Johnston as he was able to pick up where he left off from the first half with a triple, thanks to an assist from Martin, for Johnston's 15th point of the night, and the first points of the second half for the Panthers.
Fletcher caught fire, knocking down a three-pointer from the right corner, and then two possessions later, attacked the basket for two points and the foul. Fletcher was able to complete the three-point play from the free-throw line to put him in double-figures with 10 points and give the Panthers a 55-19 lead.
Braden Hausen used his two-way ability to force Canisius' 16th turnover, with the ball eventually making its way in the hands of Martinez as he attacked the basket, found Aquino down on the low left block, who then shot the ball baseline to Hausen as he knocked down the team's ninth three-pointer of the game for the 66-31 advantage with 12:11 remaining in the game.
Scotty Washington chased down an offensive rebound after a missed HPU three-pointer, and then soared the ball to the corner to Hausen, who was able to drill his second three-pointer of the game to give HPU a 71-38 lead.
"Braden has worked really hard this summer on his body. He's a fantastic shooter, a really good shooter. Just a really good all around player," said Claymann. "He's gaining confidence. He's just such a great kid and I'm really proud of how hard he's worked this summer, and he's going to help us throughout this season."
HPU was raining three-pointers as the Panthers could not miss from beyond the arc. Washington began the shooting clinic with a three-pointer in the right corner, and then Martin and Hausen followed that with their own three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give HPU its largest lead of the game, 82-39, with seven minutes to go.
The Panthers sealed the 93-50 win over Canisius behind a game-high 17 points, eight rebounds and five steals from Martin. Johnston finished with 15 points on 5-12 shooting from the three-point line, and Martinez and Fletcher each tallied 12 points.
Defensively, the Panthers were outstanding at pressuring Canisius, recording 15 steals and forcing 21 turnovers with HPU being able to create 23 points off those turnovers.
On the offensive end, HPU shot an impressive 58.1 percent from the field overall, 80 percent from the free-throw line, and 40.6 percent from the three-point line off a season-high 13 made three-pointers including five from Johnston and three from Hausen.
UP NEXT:
HPU will travel to Daytona Beach, Florida to compete in the Boardwalk Battle against the University of Illinois Chicago on Thursday, November 20, at 2:30 p.m.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
