HPU MBB Faces Coastal In Friday ESPNU Beach Battle

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (17-6, 8-3) makes its second ESPNU appearance of the 2014-15 season Friday night when the Panthers battle Coastal Carolina (16-7, 7-4) in Conway, S.C. The Panthers have won in their last two regular season games at the HTC Center.

Tip-off between the Panthers and Chanticleers is scheduled for 9 p.m. Friday’s game will be televised nationally on ESPNU, featuring Mark Brown (play-by-play) and Mo Cassara (color commentary). “Voice of the Panthers” Evan Lepler and Stafford Stephenson also will call the game on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 8:30 p.m.

HPU and Radford lead the Big South with 8-3 league records. Coastal is one of five teams one game back at 7-4.

With a victory Friday, HPU would reach the 18-win plateau for just the third time in the program’s Division I history.

HPU has won eight of its last 10 league road games and is 7-4 (.636) in overall road games during the 2014-15 season. The Panthers are 4-1 on the road in league play this season. HPU’s best road winning percentage in its Division I history is .500 (8-8), set during the 2003-04 season. HPU has never won more than five Big South road games in a season.

Last time out, HPU fell to Radford, 67-64, on Tuesday night inside the Millis Center. The Panthers outscored the Highlanders 35-27 in the second half but could not score on their final possession to erase the three-point deficit.

Redshirt-junior John Brown posted his ninth 20-point effort of the season with game-highs of 21 points and nine rebounds vs. Radford. With his 16th point of the game, Brown moved into eighth place on HPU’s all-time scoring list. Brown has posted 1,463 career points.

Senior guard Devante Wallace made 2-of-4 3-point field goal attempts and finished with 10 points vs. Radford. He is now fourth all-time at HPU with 165 made 3-pointers in his career.

HPU is ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll this week for the first time in program history. The Purple & White sit at No. 22 in the Feb. 2 poll.

The Panthers have shot 50 percent or better from the field in three of the past four games. HPU leads the league and ranks 26th nationally in field goal percentage (.478).

A LOOK AT THE CHANTICLEERS (16-7, 7-4)
Coastal Carolina was picked to win the Big South in the league’s pre-season poll after winning the conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2013-14. The Chanticleers posted a 9-3 non-conference record, including a win at SEC foe Auburn (58-54) on Dec. 5. The Chanticleers are ranked No. 16 in the nation in rebounding margin (+7.8) and are 9-2 at home this season. CCU is led by preseason all-Big South first team pick Josh Cameron, who paces the Chanticleers with 13.6 ppg and is shooting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. Junior forward Badou Diagne leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game and is averaging 9.3 points, while sophomore guard Shivaughn Wiggins is the team’s leading assists man (3.5 apg).

HISTORY vs. COASTAL CAROLINA
Friday’s matchup with Coastal Carolina will mark the 35th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Chanticleers. CCU holds a 19-15 edge in the all-time series and won the first meeting this season between the teams, 83-68, on Dec. 31 in High Point. HPU has won in its last two trips to the HTC Center. In the most recent meeting in Conway, the Panthers earned a 77-74 win on Feb. 5, 2014 behind 19 points from John Brown and 17 from Devante Wallace.

UP NEXT
HPU returns home for its annual Blackout contest against rival Winthrop on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big South Network, with pre-game coverage on the High Point Panthers Radio Network beginning at 6:30 p.m.