HPU men’s basketball knocks off rival UNCG, 63-57

• Sophomore Andre Fox posted his second-straight 20+ point effort and added six rebounds, four steals and three blocks
• The Panthers shot 46.9 percent and limited the Spartans to 36.1 percent shooting
• HPU is right back at it Saturday at 4 p.m. when the Panthers take on Navy in the HPU Classic

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (2-1) continued its winning ways against intra-Triad rival UNCG inside the Millis Center, knocking off the Spartans 63-57 in the Panthers’ opening game of the High Point University Classic.

HPU limited the Spartans to 26.7 percent (8-30) shooting in the first half and 36.1 percent overall (22-61) while pushing past UNCG with a 52.2 percent (12-23) shooting effort in the second half.

High Point built a 55-42 lead with 6:41 to go and held off UNCG down the stretch, as the Spartans could not move closer than four (61-57) for the remainder of the game.

With the victory, HPU has now won seven of the past eight meetings with UNCG, including a 6-1 mark in the Div. I era.

“We gutted out a great win tonight – it was a lot of fun to watch. A lot of different guys stepped up and played well,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “This was a heated game – our guys have played against each other a lot during the season and over the summers. It wasn’t pretty, but we made some big stops down the stretch to secure the win. We’ll take this victory against a quality opponent and get ready for tomorrow.”

Sophomore Andre Fox led the Panthers with his second-straight 20+ point effort. The Greenbelt, Md., product – who entered the game No. 2 in the Big South in scoring – poured in 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting while grabbing six rebounds. He also tallied a career-highs in steals (4) and blocks (3) in a solid all-around effort.

Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. chipped in 12 points (5-9 FG) and seven rebounds, while freshman point guard Jamal Wright dished out a career-best six assists to go along with 11 points and two steals. His final steal on one of UNCG’s last possessions effectively sealed the win for the Purple & White.

Senior Anthony Lindauer chipped in eight points (2-4 3pt FG) and distributed four assists, while senior Tarique Thompson tallied seven points, three rebounds and two blocks.

HPU registered a season-best eight blocks on the night and forced 15 UNCG turnovers, which led to a +9 edge (15-6) in points off turnovers for the game. High Point also registered a season-high 11 steals on the night.

The Panthers jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the game while limiting UNCG to just one field goal over the game’s first 10 minutes.

The Spartans cut the HPU lead to 11-8, but the Panthers extended their edge to 10 (23-13) on a lay-up by Bowman Jr. at the 4:37 mark of the half.

UNCG rallied with a 10-3 run to close the half, cutting the HPU edge to three (26-23) at the break.

The Spartans moved within one (35-34) at the 14:57 mark of the second half, but from there, HPU blizted UNCG with a 9-0 spurt – capped by an Austin White 3-pointer – that built the cushion back to 10 (44-34) at the 12:25 mark.

HPU extended the lead to 12 (58-46) after a triple by Lindauer at the 4:31 mark, and the Panthers hung on from there for the victory.

With the win, HPU improves to 33-5 in its last 38 home games.

High Point now battles Navy (1-2) on Saturday at 4 p.m. inside the Millis Center.