• Redshirt-senior John Brown led the Panthers with 22 points and nine rebounds
• Lorenzo Cugini (3-4 3pt FG) and Adam Weary (5-9 FG) each posted 16 points
• The Panthers move back into a tie for first place in the Big South (7-3) with UNC Asheville and Winthrop
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (14-7, 7-3) led for close to 38 minutes in a 73-63, wire-to-wire victory over Campbell (8-12, 2-8) on Wednesday evening inside Gore Arena.
The Panther lead fluctuated from three to seven for much of the game, but Campbell could not get closer than three (56-53) over the final 15 minutes.
The Panthers played a solid all-around game, shooting 48.9 percent (23-47) while limiting the Camels to 42.9 percent (18-42) from the floor. The Purple & White connected on 6-of-12 3-point attempts, held a 28-18 advantage in points in the paint and won the rebounding battle, 27-24.
With the victory, HPU moved back into a tie for first place in the Big South standings with UNC Asheville and Winthrop.
“We came out with a purpose tonight,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “We weren’t perfect, but I thought our guys were energized and focused. We switched defenses and mixed some things up. Offensively we played well and hit our shots. Our guys were locked in and got the job done tonight on the road.”
Redshirt-senior John Brown notched a game-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in 32 minutes of work. It marked Brown’s third-straight game with at least 20 points.
Fellow senior Lorenzo Cugini broke out of a 2-for-13 slump from deep with a strong 3-of-4 performance from 3-point range. The Stow, Ohio, native finished the game with 16 points and grabbed three rebounds.
Senior Adam Weary chipped in 16 points (5-9 FG) and three assists, while junior Anthony Lindauer added 12 points, six rebounds and two assists.
The Panthers hit their first four 3-pointers of the game to jump out to a 16-9 lead at the 12:30 mark of the opening half. A pair of floaters from Lindauer kept the Panthers up seven (26-19) with 6:14 to play in the stanza, but the Camels cut the High Point advantage to four (30-26) at intermission.
Campbell cut the Panther lead to two (36-34) at the 16:03 mark of the second half, but a nice look from Haiishen McIntyre to Brown put HPU back up seven (49-42) with 11:30 to play in the game. Four straight points from Lindauer extended the lead to nine (54-45), but Campbell answered with an 8-2 run to cut the edge to three (56-53) with 6:39 to play.
HPU responded with a 5-0 spurt to go back up eight (61-53) and extended the lead to 12 (72-60) on free throws by Cugini with 34 seconds to play.
With the victory, the Panthers have now won four straight against the Camels and seven of the past eight meetings with Campbell.
High Point returns home after a week-long competitive hiatus to battle Gardner-Webb on Wednesday (Feb. 3) at 7 p.m. inside the Millis Center.