HIGH POINT, N.C. – In front of a season-record 5,245 fans in the Qubein Center on Thursday night, the High Point University men's basketball team battled out the win against Presbyterian, 84-81, on ESPNU for the Panthers' eighth straight win against the Blue Hose.
It was the Panthers 14th appearance in the Big South Wildcard broadcast on ESPNU, and the first time HPU matched up against Presbyterian on ESPNU in the 13-year history of the Wildcard series.
Rob Martin led the way for HPU with 21 points for his sixth game scoring 20 or more points. Three other Panthers finished in double-figures with
Terry Anderson totaling 18 points, shooting 8-13 from the field,
Braden Hausen and
Owen Aquino contributed 13 points a piece with Aquino's seven rebounds and three assists.
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 84, Presbyterian 81
Records: High Point (19-4) (7-1), Presbyterian (11-12) (4-4)
Head Coach Flynn Clayman: "I'm really proud of how we handled the end-of-game situation. We had a couple games earlier this year where we didn't handle good end-of-game situations, and we have just had 17 of our 18 wins have been double-figure wins. So we handled it against Charleston Southern, and we handled it again tonight, and that was a big step forward."
Aquino and Anderson ignited the spark to open the game for the Panthers, combining to score the team's first 11 points. An 8-2 scoring drive from HPU, which included three-point baskets from
Cam'Ron Fletcher and
Chase Johnston, and an Anderson bucket regained the lead for HPU, 19-17, with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
Five points, including an and-one, three-point play during a two minute and 38 second stretch from Aquino, put him in double-figure scoring and helped start a 7-2 scoring run for HPU as the Panthers jumped out to a 33-30 advantage.
Martin got in on the scoring festivities, scoring seven straight points for HPU to outscore Presbyterian 7-3 in a span of 1:12 to tie the Panthers' largest lead of the half, 40-34, with 1:55 left in the first half.
Conrad Martinez earned himself a layup with four seconds until the half to take the 42-41 lead at the end of the first 20 minutes of action.
Anderson led the way in the first half with 12 points, shooting 6-7 from the field. Aquino added 10 points and four rebounds, and Martin added nine points. The Panthers shot 50 percent from the field and 75 percent at the free-throw line in the first half.
After a scoreless first half,
Scotty Washington came out aggressive at the start of the second half, scoring five points, including a three-point play to help HPU take a 48-45 lead.
"Scotty brought a ton of energy to start the second half that gave us the boost that I was asking for at halftime," said Clayman.
It was a slow first half for Hausen as well, but seven straight second-half points put Hausen into double-figures with 10 points for his seventh double-digit scoring performance of the season, and second straight.
"He's [Hausen] the biggest surprise of the season. He's really earned all his minutes. He just gives us a ton on both ends of the floor," said Clayman. "There's a lot of talent out there, and he has just fought and fought and fought, and he's proved his value, and he's made me play him."
Martin and Anderson each drained a triple to give the Panthers their largest lead of the game, nine points, 68-59, with 8:30 remaining in the game.
A 9-3 scoring run from Presbyterian was ended when Hausen backed his way inside the paint, drew contact and got the bucket to fall to send him to the free-throw line, where he converted the three-point play to extend HPU's advantage to 76-70 with 3:03 left on the clock.
The Panthers converted all eight of their attempts at the free-throw line in the final 2:34 to seal the 84-81 victory. HPU only turned the ball over four times and forced 15 Presbyterian turnovers.
Up Next:
The Panthers hit the road for a matchup against Longwood in Farmville, Va., on Saturday, January 31, with tip-off set for 3 p.m.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
