CHARLESTON, S.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team continues to roll in conference play with its 18th straight victory against Big South opponents, dating back to last season, after picking up a come-from-behind, thrilling overtime win over Charleston Southern on the road, Saturday afternoon, 84-82. The game was powered by a game-high 20 points from
Rob Martin for his fifth 20-point game of the season.
High Point has now won five straight games against Charleston Southern and six of the last seven meetings overall, including three road victories during that stretch.
Four other Panthers tallied double-figures as
Terry Anderson poured in 16 points, converting 8-12 of his free-throw attempts, to go along with eight rebounds (five offensive boards).
Owen Aquino added 14 points, six rebounds, and tied his season-high in blocks with four.
Scotty Washington registered 12 points for his fourth game out of the last six contests, registering double-digit scoring.
Conrad Martinez, off the bench, contributed with 11 points and four rebounds.
Head Coach Flynn Clayman: "Credit Charleston Southern and their coaching staff, they have done an unbelievable job finding diamond in the rough players who are tough and skilled, and their style of play is analytically very solid and hard to beat. From our perspective, it was important for us to come together and win a close game, with our previous 15 wins coming by double figures. We missed free throws, we missed shots at the rim, and a lot of those rim misses you have to credit Charleston Southern's tough defense, but we found a way to stick together and tough it out."
Site: Buccaneer Fieldhouse
Score: High Point 84, Charleston Southern 82
Records: High Point (16-3) (4-0), Charleston Southern (11-8) (2-2)
After an early deficit,
Conrad Martinez helped the Panthers take their first lead of the game, 10-9, with 4:40 into the game. Martinez converted a layup and then forced a steal on the defensive end, pushing the ball up court to
Terry Anderson, who rose and flushed down the one-handed dunk over a defender.
HPU went on a 13-2 scoring run to take its largest lead of the game, three points, 34-30, with 3:51 remaining in the first half.
Rob Martin was crucial in the Panthers' best 3:20 of basketball in the half, scoring five points, including connecting on the team's second three-pointer.
Caden Miller added to his highlight reel after catching and throwing down an incredible two-handed alley-oop jam and the foul, thanks to a perfectly-placed lob pass from Martinez. The basket was Miller's eighth point of the game and sent the Panthers into halftime with a 41-40 lead.
Martin led the way in the first 20 minutes with 11 points, and Anderson poured in eight points.
The Panthers were strong on the offensive glass, pulling down eight offensive rebounds, which helped HPU outscore Charleston Southern in the paint, 20-14. High Point shot 43.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from long range in the first half.
HPU got out to a slow start to the second half, but Anderson's strong opening 5:20 of the half, including a layup and converting on 3-4 of his free-throw attempts, kept the Panthers' deficit within four points, 52-48.
Martin and
Scotty Washington put the Panthers on their backs as HPU trailed by 10, before both connected on the team's fourth and fifth triple to cut down Charleston Southern's lead to four points, 63-59, with 7:02 left in regulation.
After trailing the entirety of the second half, HPU went on its largest scoring run of the game, 14-2, to take its first lead of the game, 67-65, with 5:17 remaining. Martin led the way during the run with seven points to give him a game-high 20 points.
In a span of 56 seconds,
Owen Aquino finished two critical buckets inside the paint to take the four-point lead, 76-72, with 34 seconds remaining, giving Aquino 11 points on the night.
A turnaround jumper from the Buccaneers with 2.3 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 76 and sent the game into overtime for the first time HPU has competed in an overtime game this season.
Martinez responded after a Buccaneers' three-pointer with a three-ball of his own to re-take the lead for HPU, 80-79, as the clock ticked down to 3:19. The triple was Martinez's first of the game and put him in double-digit scoring with 11 points.
The Panthers scored the next four points after an Anderson layup, and two made free throws from Aquino to take an 84-79 lead, with 1:33 left in overtime.
A missed half-court try as time expired sealed the 84-82 victory to extend the Panthers' win streak to its longest of the season, eight games.
Up Next:
HPU travels to Rock Hill, S.C., to take on Winthrop University on Wednesday, January 14, at 6:30 p.m.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
