HPU Men’s Basketball Takes Last Second OT Loss To VMI

LEXINGTON, Va. — A Rodney Glasgow basket with less than a second remaining in overtime lifted VMI to an 82-80 win over the High Point University men’s basketball team on Wednesday night at Cameron Hall in Lexington, Va. Redshirt-sophomore John Brown led HPU with 28 points and nine rebounds.

Brown hit two free throws to give High Point an 80-78 lead with 1:38 left in overtime. Both teams turned the ball over and the next basket was a putback dunk by VMI’s D.J. Covington that tied it. On VMI’s last possession, Glasgow missed a jumper, got his own rebound and went to the hoop for a basket that made it 82-80. The Panthers had a chance to inbound it with 0.6 on the clock but couldn’t get a shot off.

“It was a disappointing loss,” said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. “We played well enough to win on the road but we didn’t make the plays we needed to in the end. The Big South standings are really close. We need to regroup and come out with energy on Saturday against UNC Asheville.”

Brown’s 28 points tied his career high. He shot 12-for-19 form the floor and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Sophomore Adam Weary scored 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting. Freshman point guard Jorge Perez-Laham scored a career-high 16 points, went 3-for-4 from three-point range and dished five assists.

VMI got 25 points from freshman guard QJ Peterson, including four three-pointers. Glasgow scored 18 points with five assists.

High Point fell to 6-12 overall and 2-3 in the Big South while VMI improved to 10-8 and 3-2 in Big South play. It was HPU’s first overtime game since a 77-72 double-overtime win over Liberty on Jan. 16, 2013.

The Panthers led most of the first half, gaining a 12-point lead on multiple occasions. Junior guard Devante Wallace made it 20-8 and 26-14 with two separate treys. He scored 11 points and went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half. HPU was up 36-25 after a Lorenzo Cugini jumper, but VMI’s Jordan Weethee hit a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half to make it 36-28 at the break.

Down 38-30 after a Brown layup, VMI went on a 10-0 run to take a 40-38 lead on a putback dunk by Covington with 17:24 on the clock. The game went back and forth the rest of the way. There were five ties and five lead changes in the final 17:09 of regulation.

After Glasgow hit a jumper to make it 68-65 VMI with 4:37 left in regulation, the Panthers used a 6-0 run capped by a Brown jumper to make it 73-68 with 2:27 left. The Keydets chipped away and sent it to overtime when Covington hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds left, making it 72-72.

The Keydets were able to outscore HPU 25-9 on second-chance points and 25-15 off turnovers. HPU shot 53.1 percent from the floor and 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from three-point range.

High Point is back home on Saturday when it hosts UNC Asheville at 7 p.m. at the Millis Center. It will be Richard Childress Racing Night at the Millis Center and Richard Childress, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon will be signing autographs before the game. Fans will get free rally towels and the Dillons’ race cars will be on display out front.