HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team dominated the entire 40 minutes of action as the Panthers extended their win streak to three games with a victory against Bryant University, 93-47, in the Qubein Center on Monday night for the first-ever matchup against the Bulldogs.
Four players finished in double-figures for HPU with
Braden Hausen leading the way with a game and career-high 18 points, shooting 6-8 from the field overall and 3-5 from the three-point line, as Hausen has now tallied double-digit points in four of the last five games.
Scotty Washington recorded a season-high 17 points on 6-7 shooting from the court overall and 2-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
Cam'Ron Fletcher added 14 points and five rebounds, and after scoring a career-high 26 points last game,
Conrad Martinez tallied 10 points, seven assists and four steals.
Head Coach Flynn Clayman: "Good win before the break," Head Coach
Flynn Clayman stated. "We did a really good job on the defensive end. We obviously have the ability to do what we did tonight and make a lot of shots but we combined that with a defensive effort and it's something we've been struggling with. We've been chipping away at it and it all kind of came together tonight. I'm really proud of our togetherness and our depth has been seen the last couple nights. There's not a lot of mid-major teams that can lose their top rebounder and leading scorer in one game and beat an A-10 team, and then lose their second leading scorer and starting point guard and win by 40 points so I'm proud of these guys."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 93, Bryant 47
Records: High Point (11-3), Bryant (3-10)
Terry Anderson did what he does best as he drove to the basket and got the bucket to go for two for the first points of the game for HPU. The Panthers were perfect from the free-throw line early as Washington, Hausen and Anderson knocked down the team's first seven attempts to push HPU's lead to six points, 11-5.
HPU scored its next six points inside the paint to extend the Panthers' lead to double-digits, 19-7. Martinez started it off with a deflection, resulting in him looking up court and finding Fletcher for the layup. The next possession, Martinez fired the ball up the court to Anderson, who converted the incredible pass with a bucket. It was Martinez again, this time coming off a pick and roll, and floating the ball up top to
Caden Miller for the left-handed throw down.
The Panthers continued their relentless defensive pressure as
Vincent Brady II created the Bulldogs' eighth turnover, resulting in Martinez kicking the ball over to a wide-open Fletcher on the right wing to knock down the team's first three-pointer of the game to give HPU its largest lead hus far of the game, 22-7.
High Point kept turning defense into offense. Hausen scored five straight points to jump HPU's lead to 24 points, 35-11. He started the run off by intercepting a Bulldogs' baseline inbounds pass and pushing the ball to the perimeter as he buried his first three-ball of the game. A few possessions later, Hausen showed his three-level scoring ability as he spun his way from the defense and converted the left-handed layup.It was Hausen a few possessions later that continued his incredible offense with a three-pointer from the right corner for his 11th point after Martinez drove to the basket and found Hausen wide-open beyond the arc to give HPU the 43-14 advantage.
Martinez was not only creating opportunities for others but also creating opportunities for himself. Washington shot the ball to the corner to Martinez as he drilled his first triple of the game.
HPU closed the first half on a 7-4 scoring run. Hausen scored a pair of baskets to give him 15 points at the end of the first 20 minutes of action, and Fletcher knocked in his second three-pointer to put him in double-figures with 10 points on a perfect 3-3 shooting from the court. The Panthers went into halftime with a 53-21 lead as HPU shot 66.7 percent from the field overall, 55.6 percent from beyond the arc and 16-18 from the charity stripe.
HPU was dominant on the defensive side, snatching nine steals and forcing 14 turnovers, which resulted in 24 points off turnovers. The Panthers also held Bryant to 37.5 shooting from the field overall and 18.2 percent from the free-throw line.
The Panthers started the second half on a 9-5 scoring run to make it 62-25, HPU.
Owen Aquino dropped the ball off down low to Washington for two points inside the paint. Then it was Hausen and Martinez, who each converted a three-pointer. Fletcher continued his strong first-half performance with a pair of baskets as HPU went up 40 points, 72-32. A pair of deflections from Washington and Brady II resulted in a Fletcher layup, and then a couple of possessions later, it was Fletcher who knocked down the jumper from the right elbow to earn his 14th point of the game.
Washington was also dominant on the offensive end in the second half, scoring nine of the next 11 points for HPU. A missed Bulldogs' shot allowed for Washington to get out in transition, pop and fire the long-range triple for the 77-36 lead. The next possession, Washington created space on the left corner and buried the bucket from just inside the three-point line. Then, after the timeout break, a missed shot was rebounded by HPU and kicked back out to the perimeter to Washington as he drained the second-chance opportunity for the Panthers.
Josh Ibukunoluwa recorded six of the last eight points for HPU to help uplift the Panthers to victory, 93-47, for the team's eighth game this season tallying 90 or more points. HPU shot 60.8 percent from the field for the third game this season shooting at least 60 percent from the field overall. The Panthers also shot 45 percent from the three-point line and 68.8 percent from the free-throw line.
The Panthers forced 22 turnovers and created 13 steals while holding Bryant to under 41 percent from the field overall and 3-16 shooting from the perimeter. High Point broke the largest margin of victory over a Division I team for the second time this season with the 46-point victory.
Up Next:
The Panthers host Pfeiffer University in the Qubein Center on Sunday, November 28, at 7:00 p.m. as HPU looks to extend its win streak to four games.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
