• Senior guard Devante Wallace posted 23 points, 11 rebounds and made 5-of-9 3-pointers to pace the Panthers
• Redshirt-junior forward John Brown matched him with 23 points (8-15) while adding eight rebounds and two blocks
• The Panthers were +13 on the glass (38-25) and are now 9-0 when they out-rebound their opponent this season
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Behind a double-barreled scoring juggernaut of John Brown and Devante Wallace, the High Point University men’s basketball team (11-4, 2-1) knocked off Charleston Southern (7-7, 1-2) by the score of 72-61 on Thursday evening inside the Millis Center.
Brown poured in 23 points, eight rebounds (six offensive) and two blocks, while Wallace matched him with 23 points while grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. It marked Wallace’s third double-double of his career and first this season. The Baltimore, Md., native also hit 5-of-9 3-point attempts, including four of his first five.
Wallace is averaging 11.5 rebounds over HPU’s last two games, while Brown is averaging 28.0 points and 8.0 rebounds over that span. It marked the first time HPU has had two 20-point scorers in a game since Wallace and Brown accomplished the feat on Jan. 25, 2014 vs. UNC Asheville.
The Panthers shot 46.3 percent from the field, but jumped out to a double-digit first half lead on the strength of a 50.0 percent (15-30) shooting stanza. The Panthers also knocked down 8-of-19 3-point attempts (.421) and made 14-of-17 free throws (.824) in the game.
“This was a very good win for us,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “We held a very good offensive basketball team to 61 points. Our guys executed the game plan, did a tremendous job on the boards and took care of the basketball.”
The Panthers were +13 (38-25) on the glass and held a 12-7 offensive rebounding edge against a CSU team that entered the game ranked 21st in the nation with 14.0 offensive boards per contest. HPU turned those 12 boards into a 24-5 edge in second chance points. The Panthers are now 9-0 when they out-rebound their opponent this season
Junior point guard Haiishen McIntyre dished out a team-high four assists and posted five points, while junior guard Adam Weary added six points, two rebounds and two assists.
The two teams played to early ties of 10-10 and 21-21 before HPU used a 7-0 run to push in front 28-21 with 6:12 to play in the first half. The run included a 3-pointer from Wallace and two buckets from Brown. The Buccaneers cut the lead to one (30-29) on the strength of an 8-2 run, but HPU surged right back to post 10 of the final 13 point of the half. The spurt, which included two 3-pointers from Wallace, sent the Panthers into the half ahead, 40-32.
Wallace notched 16 points (4-5 3pt FG) and seven rebounds to lead HPU in the stanza.
The Buccaneers cut the Panther advantage to four (42-38) just two minutes into the second half, before HPU bounced back with a 6-0 run to re-claim an eight-point lead (48-38) with 14:22 to play. Wallace’s fifth triple of the game pushed HPU ahead by 12 (58-46) with 10:32 remaining and a 3-pointer from Weary gave the Panthers their largest lead of the game (71-54) with 2:57 to go. The Buccaneers could not move closer than seven for the final eight minute of the game, as HPU held CSU without a field goal for more than five minutes late in the second half.
HPU remains at home to battle Campbell (7-8, 1-1) inside the Millis Center on Saturday (Jan. 10) at 7 p.m.