HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's basketball team clinched a share of the Big South regular-season title for the third straight season after beating Winthrop University on Saturday night 89-87.
The Panthers were led by
Terry Anderson with 23 points and 11 rebounds, registering his fourth double-double performance this season. Four other Panthers reached double-figures including,
Owen Aquino and
Vincent Brady II with 12,
Braden Hausen with 11 and
Rob Martin with 10.
"This game tonight was crazy," Head Coach
Flynn Clayman stated. "I haven't really fully processed it yet but it's almost March and this is what the fans love. We obviously need to go back and see where we had a little bit of a meltdown. We had a nice 16 points lead and it quickly went down to being behind. Early in the year we would've lost that game 100% but our guys stuck together, and we made the plays and I'm really proud of a lot of these guys."
Site: Qubein Center
Score: High Point 89, Winthrop 87
Records: High Point (26-4) (14-1), Winthrop (20-9, 12-2)
In the opening five minutes, High Point jumped out to an 11-point lead with an Aquino three from the wing.
Conrad Martinez extended the advantage to 13 with a strong drive into the paint to make it 21-8.
Before the mid-way point in the first-half,
Cam'Ron Fletcher rocked the house with an alley-oop dunk from Brady II.
At the eight-minute mark, Brady II gave the Panthers its largest lead of the half with a layup in the paint as Fletcher returned the favor with an assist. In the next possession down the court, Fletcher blocked a shot to give HPU an opportunity in transition.
Scotty Washington found Brady II wide open for a three to give High Point its largest lead of the game at 17, 33-16.
Winthrop chipped away late in the first half and closed the gap to within four points with one minute remaining before the break. HPU held on to the lead as Martin connected on an and-one with the free throw to go back up by seven, 42-35.
Opening up the second half, Anderson pushed High Point's lead back up to double-digits with a layup down the lane. At the 13-minute mark, Hausen drained a deep three at the logo to make it 62-50.
Brady II extended HPU's lead back up to 16 with an alley-oop dunk from Martin with 11 minutes to go in the game.
Within five minutes of action, Winthrop chipped away and made it a one possession game as HPU led 70-68. A three-pointer from Winthrop gave the Eagles their first lead of the game since first basket of the game.
With the game tied at 73 all with four and a half minutes to go, High Point drained three huge threes to keep the Panthers ahead. The first two came in back-to-back plays from Fletcher on opposite wings to make it 79-75. Down the stretch, Hausen cashed in a clutch three in the corner in front of the Panthers' bench off a pass from Martin to make it 87-80 with a minute and a half left on the clock.
"I'm really proud of Cam to make those two big shots," Coach Clayman added. "He's been going through a lot and he's been really trying to be a winner and he is."
Winthrop closed the gap to two-points, but the Panthers held on and took the victory at home. High Point shot 49.1% from the field, 35.5% from three-point range and 80% from the line. The Panthers capitalized on the fastbreak, scoring 24 points in transition.
UP NEXT:
High Point travels to Presbyterian College on Thursday, February 26 for the last game of the regular season. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl
