HPU men’s basketball sets 3-pt shooting record in loss at Vanderbilt

• High Point set a program Div. I record for 3-point shooting, going 12-15 from behind the arc.
• Miles Bowman Jr. led HPU in scoring for the third-straight game with a season-high 22 points.
• The Panthers shot lights out in the first half, going 14-25 from the floor and 8-9 from three.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The High Point University men’s basketball team set a new program Div. I record for 3-point shooting at Vanderbilt but the Panthers were unable to overcome a record night for the Commodores as HPU fell by a score of 90-63 in Nashville, Tenn.

High Point shot 80 percent (12-15) from behind the arc to blow away the previous record of 68.8 percent (11-16) set against Charleston Southern in 2012. The 12 made three pointers are tied for eighth-most in Div. I history, three-shy of the HPU Div. I record.

Vanderbilt went 19-32 on 3-pointers, setting a new program record for made three pointers. The Commodores’ previous record was 18 made 3-pointers at Tennessee in 2005. The two teams combined to set a new Memorial Gym record with 31 made 3-pointers in the game.

Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. led HPU with 22 points and six rebounds. The forward went 5-10 from the field and 10-12 at the line for a new season high, one point shy of his career high. Freshman Jamal Wright and senior Anthony Lindauer also finished in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Matthew Fisher-Davis led a group of five players in double figures for Vanderbilt, scoring 19 points. Riley Lachance and Jeff Roberson both had 14 points, Payton Willis had 13 and Nolan Cressler scored 10 off the bench.

“I thought we did a better job coming out with the right effort today,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “Guys are realizing the difference between when we do that and when we don’t. We need to spend some time improving in certain areas, especially offensively. We usually hit a wall somewhere in the game and that costs us on the other end. We just need to improve, hit some more shots and take better care of the ball.”

Bowman Jr. got the Panthers off to a hot start, hitting his first four shots for 10 points as HPU took a 13-6 lead with 14 minutes left in the half. Vanderbilt answered the early haymaker from High Point with a 24-5 run to take a 30-18 lead. The Commodores couldn’t miss, going 8-9 from the field and 6-7 from behind the arc.

High Point trailed by 15, 40-25, with five minutes left in the half, but outscored the Commodores down the stretch, 17-10, to close to within single-digits at the break. Lindauer hit a step-back three with five seconds left to go down just six only to see Willis connect on a fadeaway at the buzzer.

The two teams both shot lights out in the opening 20 minutes as HPU went 14-25 overall and 8-9 from behind the arc while Vanderbilt went 16-27 overall and 12-19 from three.

The Panthers trailed by 11, 60-49, with 16:19 to play after a three from sophomore Andre Fox when HPU suddenly went cold from the field, allowing Vanderbilt to pull away with a 24-5 run. The Purple & White were held to just five free throws over a 13-minute span before a 3-pointer from junior Austin White.

After shooting 56 percent (14-25) in the first half, High Point shot just 31.3 percent (5-16) in the second half.

“We just didn’t do the same things offensively in the second half that we did in the first half,” head coach Scott Cherrysaid. “We hit some tough shots in the first half but in the second half those shots didn’t go down. Vanderbilt is an SEC team so they are a good basketball team and were able to take advantage. This game is over now so it’s on to the next one.”

The Panthers fall to 4-5 on the season and now return to the Millis Center for their next two games starting with a tilt against Ferrum on Sunday, Dec. 11. The battle between the Panthers tips off at 2 p.m.