HPU Men’s Basketball Pulls Away For 93-62 Win Over St. Andrews

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team used a late surge to pull away with a 93-62 win over St. Andrews University on Wednesday evening at the Millis Center. Redshirt-freshman John Brown led all scorers with 24 points and graduate student Allan Chaney posted his second double-double in a row.

“We were expecting to work for the win tonight and St. Andrews made us work,” said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. “We shot better in the second half – we only missed 11 shots and five of them were from three-point range – so I feel good about that. We’ve got to get some guys in the gym and get their confidence up. We’ll get back to practice and get ready for Indiana State on Sunday.”

Brown finished the night with 24 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. It was the third time in four collegiate games he scored at least 22 points. Chaney posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double in a row and freshman Adam Weary also finished in double figures with 13 points.

Senior guard Jairus Simms had a career-high nine assists in the game. It was the highest assist total by an HPU player since David Singleton had 11 against VMI on Jan. 24, 2009.

St. Andrews had four players in double figures led by Orlando Edwards, who scored 14 points with seven rebounds. He went 4-for-5 from three-point range. Demetirus Monroe scored 12 points with six rebounds. Kenton Chan-Man and DJ Carnegie both scored 10 points.

High Point got out to a 16-8 lead in the first five minutes, but the Knights’ hot shooting kept them close until late in the first half. Down 20-14 with 12:03 remaining, St. Andrews scored five of the next seven points, including a pair of treys by Chan-Man and Christopher Clay, to tie it at 22-22. The Knights had hit 4-of-6 three-point attempts to that point.

After a St. Andrews timeout, High Point went on a 12-2 run to make it 34-24. Chaney hit four HPU baskets in a row and freshman Haiishen McIntyre capped the run with the first basket of his collegiate career, a layup with 4:58 on the clock. Late in the half, HPU scored six points in a row on free throws to take a 13-point lead and the Panthers were ahead 44-34 at halftime. Chaney nearly had a double-double in the first half with 10 points and nine boards.

High Point junior Justin Cheek hit a jumper and Chaney followed with a layup to start the second half, but St. Andrews came back to get within 10 two more times. A three-point play by Brown put High Point ahead, 57-42, with 16:04 remaining before Monroe hit a jumper and Chan-Man hit a three to get St. Andrews back within 10 (57-47) for the final time.

A 15-5 run put the Panthers up, 72-52, with under eight minutes to play. HPU scored seven points in a row to finish the run – a jumper by Weary, a layup by Brown and a three-pointer by junior Dejuan McGaughy. Just over five minutes later, the Panthers led by 30 (84-54). The Panthers’ largest lead of the game was 33 (87-54) on a McIntyre putback with 2:51 remaining.

Redshirt-senior forward Corey Law returned from an injury to play in his first game of the season. He hit his first shot, a layup in the first half, and finished with eight points on 4-for-6 shooting, to go along with six rebounds.

High Point improved to 3-1, the team’s best start since going 3-1 to start the 2005-06 season. The Panthers’ last 4-1 start was in 1999-2000. St. Andrews dropped to 0-5 on the season.

High Point is back in action on Sunday with its longest road trip of the regular season. HPU plays Indiana State at ISU’s Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind. Game time is 1 p.m.