HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team continued its home dominance with its 12th consecutive victory inside the Qubein Center after defeating UNC Asheville on Thursday night, 74-48, on ESPNU, behind a team-high 16 points from
Rob Martin and
Terry Anderson.
The victory gives the Panthers their 25th win of the season, becoming the first team in Big South Conference history to record 25 wins in three consecutive seasons. It also extends their current win streak to nine straight games, marking the team's longest of the season.
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 74, UNC Asheville 48
Records: High Point (25-4) (13-1), UNC Asheville (12-15) (6-7)
Head Coach Flynn Clayman: "Really proud of our team's effort on the defensive end. We did not shoot the ball well, but man, we really defended today. That wasn't a fluke. That wasn't missed shots. That was being on the same page and forcing them into tough shot after tough shot. We had a couple breakdowns, but that was about as good of a defensive performance as I've ever coached in any of my games anywhere, so really proud of that. That gives me a lot of hope getting to the end of the season when it's championship time, that we can win games where we don't really shoot it that well. Everybody knows that we're going to win games when we do shoot it well, but can we win the games when it gets a little tight and you're missing some open ones? And we handled that tonight, so proud of the effort."
After two minutes of scoreless basketball, Martin spun his way to the basket for a layup for the first two points of the game. A great defensive play from Martin to intercept a pass allowed him to push the ball up the floor to Anderson, who finished the easy basket at the rim, helping HPU build a 16-11 lead.
Martin continued his strong performance in the first half with a reverse left-handed layup and a 3-pointer on the next possession to put him on the scorecard with nine points and extend the Panthers' lead to their largest thus far of the game, 12 points, 27-15, with 4:11 remaining in the first half.
The Panthers went into the halftime break with a 32-19 advantage. HPU recorded seven steals and forced 11 turnovers, compared to its five turnovers. Martin was the only player in double-figures after 20 minutes, tallying 10 points on 3-6 shooting from the field.
Owen Aquino and
Scotty Washington each scored seven points and Anderson added six at the end of the first half.
HPU started the second half on a 7-2 run, which included Martin draining his second triple as the Panthers took a 39-21 advantage. Anderson and Martin each converted a 3-point play after finishing contested baskets inside the paint for fouls as HPU jumped out to a 24-point advantage, 53-29, with 11:05 left.
Vincent Brady II put his defender in a spin cycle on the way to his second basket of the game as the Panthers maintained a 20-point advantage, 57-31. The high-flying
Caden Miller got Panther fans on their feet after
Braden Hausen lobbed a pass to a soaring Miller, who threw down a two-handed jam.
Conrad Martinez went on a scoring tear, scoring the final 10 points for HPU, including converting back-to-back 3-pointers and two layups, helping the Panthers secure a 74-48 win.
Martinez finished with 12 points, three rebounds and two steals as the Panthers extended their win streak against UNC Asheville to three games, their longest against the Bulldogs in over five years.
HPU was tremendous defensively as the 48 UNC Asheville points are the fewest HPU has allowed against the Bulldogs since 2011, and the 26-point victory is tied for the second-largest margin of victory against UNC Asheville. High Point turned the ball over eight times while forcing 16 turnovers and converting them into 17 points off turnovers. The Panthers also held UNC Asheville to 31.6 percent shooting from the field, 23.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 54.5 percent at the free-throw line.
Comparatively, the Panthers shot 42.9 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe, including shooting 47.1 percent from the field in the second half and converting all seven of their free throws.
Up Next:
The Panthers tip off against Winthrop at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21, inside the Qubein Center for HPU's final home game of the season.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
