HPU Men’s Basketball Gets 80-69 Road Win Over William & Mary

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The High Point University men’s basketball team opened up a big lead in the first half on its way to an 80-69 win over William & Mary on Wednesday night at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va. Graduate student Allan Chaney had 19 points and five steals in the win while redshirt-sophomore John Brown scored 18 points with 12 rebounds.

“This was a really good road win for us. The guys are excited and they deserve it,” said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. “It was a good game plan by my staff and the guys executed it. Of course we still have things to work on and we’ll get back after it in practice and get ready for Sunday.”

Chaney shot 9-for-14 from the floor and added five rebounds and two blocks. Brown had three blocks and three assists in addition to his fifth career double-double. Junior guard Devante Wallace scored 17 points on 4-for-7 three-point shooting and had four assists. The 17 points were one shy of his career high.

William & Mary forward Tim Rusthoven scored a game-high 20 points and had five rebounds. He scored 16 points in the second half. Junior guard Marcus Thornton scored 18 points.

High Point improved to 2-2 while William & Mary fell to 1-3. It was High Point’s first win over a CAA team since Dec. 29, 2004, an 82-63 win on the road against James Madison.

The Panthers got out to an early 6-1 lead on consecutive dunks by Brown and held it the rest of the way. It was 14-6 when freshman Anthony Lindauer and sophomore Adam Weary hit consecutive three-pointers. The Tribe got back within five (16-11) when Thornton hit a trey but the Panthers went on a 9-0 run, extending it to 25-11 when Chaney hit two shots in a row.

High Point had a 15-point lead (31-16) before a 7-0 run by the Tribe. Kyle Gaillard scored five points in a row to make it 31-23, but the Panthers went on another 9-0 run, including seven points by Chaney, to make it 43-26. Thornton hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it 43-29 at halftime.

The second half was played much closer with William & Mary outscoring HPU 40-37, but the closest the Tribe ever got was within nine points in the closing minutes. The Panthers led by their largest margin – 20 points – when sophomore Lorenzo Cugini hit a jumper from the right side to make it 54-34. William & Mary went on a 14-5 run to cut HPU’s lead to 11 before the Panthers scored the next eight. HPU’s run was capped by consecutive three-pointers by Wallace, to make it 67-48.

The 19-point lead was too much for the Tribe to overcome in the final eight minutes. William & Mary went on an 10-2 run that only got them within 11 points (69-58). The closest they got was within nine (78-69) on a fast-break dunk by Daniel Dixon with 1:27 on the clock. The Panthers ran time off the clock and finished the game with a pair of free throws by Brown that made it 80-69.

Weary scored 10 points in 19 minutes after missing the previous two games with an injury. HPU’s 10 steals and five blocks were both season highs. The Panthers outscored William & Mary 46-26 in the paint.

High Point is back in action with a doubleheader on Sunday at the Millis Center. The women’s basketball team plays Davidson at 2 p.m. and the men’s basketball team plays Wofford at 5 p.m.