• HPU earned its fourth-straight victory while shooting 57.1 percent from the floor (32-56)
• Redshirt-senior John Brown posted his first double-double of the year with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds
• The Panthers have won six of the past seven meetings with UNCG
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (7-2) used a balanced effort on both sides of the floor to power past Triad rival UNCG, 90-72, on Wednesday evening inside the Millis Center.
Five players posted at least seven points and four student-athletes notched three or more assists in an efficient offensive evening for the Purple & White. HPU shot 57.1 percent (32-56) from the floor, including a 62.5 mark (15-24) in the second half, and distributed 20 assists on 32 made baskets.
Defensively, the Panthers also limited the Spartans to 44.6 percent from the floor, including 31.8 percent from beyond the arc (.318), en route to capturing their fourth-straight victory.
“This game had some similarities to our Morgan State game, when we came out slow but then turned it on by creating opportunities in transition and executing offensively,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “In the second half, we strung some stops together and were able to build up the lead. This was a good team win tonight.”
After being out-rebounded 18-17 in the first half, HPU was +8 (19-11) In the second half. The Panthers also made six steals and held a 13-8 edge in points off turnovers. The Purple & White posted a solid 42 points in the paint and are now 5-0 when they post at least 40 points in the key.
Redshirt-senior John Brown led the Panthers with 24 points (9-15 FG) and a season-best 11 rebounds to post his first double-double of the season and 14th of his career. The Jacksonville, Fla., native, also recorded three assists, two steals, two blocks and 0 turnovers in 29 minutes of action.
With his fifth point of the night, Brown moved past Pete Collins (1970-74) and into fifth place on HPU’s all-time scoring list. He now has scored 1,868 career points.
Senior Lorenzo Cugini – who entered the game ranked third in the nation in 3-point percentage – made all three of his attempts from beyond the arc and finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He’s now made a sizzling 62.2 percent (23-37) of his 3-point attempts on the year.
Fellow senior Adam Weary posted an excellent stat line on the night, notching 14 points, five rebounds, a season-high five assists and 0 turnovers. The Memphis product was 4-of-4 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line on the night.
Senior point guard Haiishen McIntyre notched nine points (4-5 FG), four rebounds and three assists, while freshman guard Andre Fox added seven points, three rebounds and a career-best two blocks in 17 minutes.
The Spartans led for much of the first half and jumped out to an 18-15 advantage. UNCG extended the edge to six (28-22) at the 6:31 mark of the half, but from there, the Panthers responded with an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to build a five point edge (33-28). The surge included six points from Brown.
HPU closed the half on a 7-2 spurt and took a 44-36 lead into the break.
UNCG posted the first bucket of the second half to cut the lead to six, but that’s as close as the Spartans would get. From there, HPU scored 16 of the next 22 points of the game to build 20-point advantage (71-51) with 8:24 to go.
The Panthers took their largest lead (78-56) on a 3-pointer from junior guard Anthony Lindauer and cleared the bench over the final five minutes to wrap up the team’s second straight win over the Spartans.
HPU has now won six of its last seven meetings with UNCG. High Point is 24-2 (.923) in its last 26 home games.
HPU remains at home to host a holiday showdown with UVa-Wise on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 13, 4 p.m.). All fans at the game will receive complimentary cookies and hot chocolate. The contest also will feature a visit from Santa.