RADFORD, Va. – In a mid-week matchup, the High Point University men's basketball team took on the Highlanders of Radford University for the second time this season. The Panthers picked up their fifth straight win and second consecutive road win with the 78-75 victory at the Dedmon Center.
 
Chase Johnston led the night from the perimeter with four made threes and clinched his 1,500th career point after dropping his second three of the game. Of Johnston's 1,509 points, 1,008 points have been scored from three-point range on 39.34% shooting for his career.

"Winning on the road is difficult," Head Coach Alan Huss. We were fortunate to escape with a victory. This is a huge stretch for us, we will now turn our sites to Asheville." 
 
Site:  Dedmon Center
Score: High Point 78, Radford 75
Records: High Point (20-5, 8-2), Radford (15-10, 5-5)
 
Opening the game, Johnston drained two back-to-back threes following a layup from Kezza Giffa to put the Panthers up 8-3 in the first two minutes. The Radford home crowd was loud at the start as the Highlanders took a one-point lead, 11-10 with a big-time dunk.
 
Through the middle of the first half, Radford held a steady lead and stretched on a 7-0 run to gain a 24-17 lead at the 10-minute mark. Abdoulaye Thiam brought energy to the Panthers offense and defense and picked up steals that led to easy transition points, helping close the gap back to a one-point game.
 
At the 6:32 mark, High Point trailed 28-27 following a corner three from Giffa and a layup from Johnston. The Panthers continued to trail by a basket or two until the last two minutes of the first half. D'Maurian Williams knocked down two free throws to help secure a 31-30 lead.
 
Johnston extended HPU's lead to four with a minute and a half remaining in the first half after Giffa kicked back a pass in transition for a pull-up deep three on the wing. The Panthers led 36-32 going into the break with a strong layup from Giffa.
 
High Point set the tone early in the second half and jumped out to a steady nine-point lead with a Trae Benham three-pointer at the 11:30 mark. Radford continued to battle and closed the game to within four-points on back-to-back possessions around the eight-minute mark, but Kimani Hamilton sunk two back-to-back threes to keep HPU up by seven.
 
During the last four minutes of the game, Radford kept it interesting, cutting the game to two with an old school three-point play on an and-one. With every basket from the Highlanders, the Panthers had an answer.
 
Leading 69-67 with two minutes to go, Hamilton forced a turnover on the Highlanders in the front court and took it to the hoop for a rim roller to go back up by four. High Point fouled and sent Radford to the line for two, cutting the game back to a two-point difference. In the Panthers next possession, Williams took his defender one-on-one and forced the defense to collapse, giving Giffa a wide-open look from the corner. Sinking the three, High Point went up by five, 74-69 with a minute and a half to go.
 
Playing it smart, High Point kept the Highlanders from getting off easy shots. With 30 seconds left on the clock, HPU went up 76-70 with the help of two free throws from Giffa. In Radford's last possession of the game, the Highlanders missed their first three-point attempt but secured the offensive board and kicked it out for another three-pointer. Making it from the top of the key with 21 seconds left on the clock, Radford made it a one possession game and trailed by three, 76-73.
 
On the inbounds, the Panthers ran some clock off before Radford committed a foul. Giffa scored the last two points for HPU going two-for-two from the line to finish the night perfect from the charity stripe (6-6). High Point picked up the 78-75 victory and extended its conference record to 8-2.
 
UP NEXT:
High Point returns to the Qubein Center on Saturday, February 8 for the second meeting with UNC Asheville on family weekend. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.