HIGH POINT, N.C. — On Tuesday night, the High Point University men's basketball team welcomed Division III Mary Baldwin to the Qubein Center for a first-time matchup. The Panthers defeated the Fighting Squirrels in high scoring fashion, breaking the largest margin of victory record in program history with a 129-47 win.
High Point was led by
Cam'Ron Fletcher with 24 points after shooting 9-for-11 from the field and a career-high 5-for-5 from three-point range. He added seven rebounds, four steals and a block. Leading the team on the boards was freshman forward
Caden Miller with a season-high 11.
"This was a good bounce back game," Head Coach
Flynn Clayman stated. "We had a good team effort and positive attitudes from the guys and I'm glad they came out and played together. It can be easy to play a Division III team and say I'm going to go be selfish out there and these guys didn't do that, they played for each other. There's not much else to say. We have to turn the page quick to a good La Salle team but overall, it was a good bounce back game tonight."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 129, Mary Baldwin 47
Records: High Point (9-3), Mary Baldwin (5-3)
Making his home court debut since battling an injury,
Vincent Brady II produced 14 points off a 5-9 shooting night from the field and dished out a career-high seven assists.
The Panthers jumped out to an early lead, holding the Fighting Squirrels to zero points in the first five minutes of the game with an 18-0 lead.
At the 14-minute mark in the first half, Fletcher heated up and went on a scoring spree, driving in for a layup and knocking down back-to-back threes on the wing, giving HPU a 29-4 advantage.
Scotty Washington buried a three with nine minutes to go in the half followed by another transition three from
Braden Hausen with eight minutes to go to make it 42-12 with a 30-point lead.
Miller entered the game late in the first half and contributed strong minutes. With two minutes to go before the break, Miller secured the offensive rebound from a hard
Rob Martin drive for the tip in basket. In the next play on defense, he blocked a jump shot and skipped a pass ahead for Brady II to put down a two-handed jam to give HPU the 64-16 lead.
At the half, High Point led 66-19 which is the third most points scored in a half and the second largest first-half margin in program history.
To start the second half, Mary Baldwin connected on a floater and a three pointer to make it 66-24.
High Point continued to pick up steals and score in transition and extended to a 93-33 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the game. Fletcher cashed in his fifth three of the game to give HPU its 99th point of the game.
In the Panthers next possession,
Chase Johnston knocked down his fifth three of the night to break 100 points and lead 102-36. This was Johnston's sixth game this season with more than three three-pointers made in the game.
In the final five minutes, High Point went on a 16-2 run with baskets from Miller,
Babacar Diallo, and two free throws from
Birgir Irving to score the final two points for the Panthers.
Overall High Point shot 63.8% from the field, 51.6% from three and 75.8% from the line. The Panthers' 16 made three was the most made threes as a team this season. The team also picked up 16 steals, led by Fletcher with four, allowing the offense to score 35 fast break points and 54 points in the paint.
UP NEXT:
High Point takes on La Salle University on Friday, December 19 at 7:00 p.m. inside the Qubein Center for the teams second of four home games over the Christmas break.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
