Defensive second half pushes HPU Men’s Basketball past Navy, 69-62

• Sophomore Andre Fox matched his season high with 23 points, including 11 from the charity stripe.
• Miles Bowman Jr. registered his third double-double in four games for the Panthers with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• High Point wraps up the HPU Classic against North Dakota State on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 12:30 p.m.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Sophomore Andre Fox matched his career high with 23 points to lead the High Point University men’s basketball team to a 69-62 win over Navy in the HPU Classic Saturday afternoon at the Millis Center.

Fox was one of three players in double figures for the Panthers, who won the game on the strength of a terrific defensive effort in the second half.

After the Midshipmen shot 52.2 percent (55.6 3pt FG) in the opening half, HPU stepped it up on D in the second, limiting Navy to 35.5 percent, including a paltry 23.5 percent (4-17) from beyond the arc.

HPU forced the usually ball secure Midshipmen into 16 turnovers and held a 17-9 edge in points off turnovers for the game.

The Panthers outscored Navy 39-32 in the second half.

“This is a very good win against a very good basketball team,’ head coach Scott Cherry said. “We were down by 11 in the first half, but our guys were resilient, fought back and finished the half extremely well. In the second half, we battled defensively against a hard offense to prepare for. Top to bottom, this was a complete effort in a short turnaround window.”

The 20-point game by Fox was the sophomore’s third-straight. He shot 5-of-10 from the floor and 11-13 from the line while also picking up six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the contest.

Senior Anthony Lindauer and redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. joined Fox in double figures in the win for HPU. Lindauer put up 15 points to go along with two assists and two steals while Bowman notched his third double-double in four games with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman Jamal Wright chipped in a game-high four assists and three steals, while senior Tarique Thompson tallied seven points and four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

Ryan Pearson led Navy with 15 points in the game. Shawn Anderson and George Kiernan also finished in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.

High Point improves to 3-1 on the season with the win over the Midshipmen who fall to 1-3 to start the 2016-17 campaign.

The Panthers found themselves in an early 7-0 hole before a 3-pointer from Fox and a steal and fast-break dunk by Lindauer pulled HPU within two at the first media timeout.

The Panthers briefly took an 11-10 lead on a bucket by sophomore Ricky Madison before Navy rolled off a 13-1 run to go ahead, 23-12. Fox and Madison ended the run with back-to-back buckets and both Bowman Jr. and senior Tarique Thompson added scores in an 8-0 HPU run.

Down five, 30-25, with 2:27 to play in the opening half, High Point closed the period on a 7-2 run, tying the game at 32-32 heading into halftime. Freshman Jamal Wright hit a free throw with five seconds left to level the score and then stole the inbounds pass at the buzzer for HPU.

High Point carried its strong finish in the first half through the break, extending its run to 15-4 to take a 40-34 lead on two free throws by Lindauer after a technical foul on the Navy bench.

After Navy came back to take a one-point lead, 44-43, with just over 12 minutes remaining, the Panthers responded with a 7-0 run of its own, including five points from Fox to go ahead 50-44 at the 10-minute mark.

HPU would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way, going ahead by as much as nine on a fast-break 3-pointer by Lindauer before ultimately winning by seven.

With the victory, HPU improves to 34-5 in its last 39 home games.

High Point wraps up the HPU Classic against North Dakota State on Sunday, Nov. 20. The game between the Panthers and Bison tips off at 12:30 p.m. and will be followed by a contest between Navy and UNCG.