HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (4-2) will make a short trip within the Triad to take on UNCG (1-5) on Monday night at 7 p.m. inside Greensboro Coliseum.
HPU leads the all-time series with UNCG, 7-2. Monday’s game at UNCG will be be broadcast on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with streaming audio featuring “Voice of the Panthers” Evan Lepler available on highpointpanthers.com. Pre-game coverage on the High Point Panthers Radio Network begins at 6:30 p.m. The game also will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network.
A win vs. UNCG would move HPU to 5-2 on the season for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign. The Panthers started 2014-15 4-1 for the first time since 1999-00 and 3-0 for the first time in the Division I era.
Last time out, HPU clawed back from a 10-point halftime deficit to make it a one possession game in the final minute, but could not push past Clemson Friday night. HPU fell 62-59 inside Littlejohn Coliseum. The Panthers out-scored Clemson, 43-36, in the second half and held a .567-.358 advantage in field goal percentage for the frame.
Redshirt-junior forward John Brown posted 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and posted seven rebounds to lead HPU. His second half alley-oop slam off a lob from guard Haiishen McIntyre earned the No. 6 spot on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top-10 Plays segment early Saturday morning.
McIntyre earned the start at point guard vs. Clemson and shined with a career-best 10 assists while adding two steals vs. the Panthers. It marked the first 10-assist performance from an HPU player since Jorge Perez-Laham posted 11 vs. Longwood on Feb. 22, 2014. McIntyre leads the Big South with a 4.75 assist/turnover ratio.
With his first 3-pointer vs. Clemson, Devante Wallace moved past Zione White (2003-05) and into solo fifth place on HPU’s all-time 3-pointers made list. Wallace now has 131 career triples at HPU.
The Panthers are in the midst of a stretch in which the team plays three of four games on the road. The schedule segment includes two contests against “Power 5” programs (Clemson on Nov. 28, Ohio State on Dec. 10).
A LOOK AT THE SPARTANS (1-5)
The Spartans were picked to finish fifth out of 10 teams in the new look Southern Conference. UNCG opened the season with a 76-62 win over Chowan, but has dropped its last five games, including an 87-79 setback against Indiana inside Assembly Hall on Nov. 28. UNCG is led by preseason All-SoCon selection Tevon Saddler. The sophomore guard leads the Spartans with 15.7 ppg and 4.3 apg and is second on the team with 5.2 rpg. Redshirt-sophomore center RJ White is the team’s leading rebounder (7.0 rpg) and also chips in 13.6 ppg while shooting 46.7 percent (10-22) from 3-point territory. Junior forward Kayel Locke is shooting a team-high 62.5 percent (20-32) from beyond the arc and averages 12.0 points per contest.
HISTORY vs. UNCG
Friday’s matchup will mark the 10th all-time meeting between High Point and UNCG, with the Panthers holding a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series. HPU leads 3-1 in the Division I era. The teams first met in November 1974, with the Panthers picking up an 82-68 win in High Point. HPU and UNCG have split two meetings over the past two seasons, with HPU winning, 81-73 in Millis on Nov. 9, 2012, and UNCG winning at the Coliseum, 82-74, on Nov. 8, 2013 to open the 2013-14 campaign. John Brown has averaged 23.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg and shot 56.3 percent in two career games vs. UNCG.
HISTORY vs. SOCON OPPONENTS
The Panthers are 70-50 (.583) all-time against current members of the Southern Conference. The Panthers most common opponents are Western Carolina (39-22), VMI (13-10) and UNCG (7-2). The Panthers matched up with WCU often in the when both teams were members of the Carolinas Conference in the NAIA era. And HPU and VMI clashed often over the past 10 years during VMI’s tenure in the Big South.
UP NEXT
HPU returns to the Millis Center to play the back half of a home-and-home series with CAA foe William & Mary on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Big South Network, with streaming audio featuing “Voice of the Panthers” Evan Lepler also available via highpointpanthers.com. HPU won at W&M, 80-69, on Nov. 20 last season.