HPU men’s basketball stymies Gardner-Webb in 71-64 road win

• High Point started conference play at 1-0 with a win over 71-64 road win at Gardner-Webb on Thursday.
• Senior Anthony Lindauer scored 15 second-half points and dished out a career-high seven assists in the win.
• High Point had 21 assists in the win while turning the ball over just seven times.

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team opened conference play with a 71-64 win on the road at Gardner-Webb on Thursday night at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C.

The Panthers dished out 21 assists on 26 made baskets while turning the ball over a season-low seven times.

“This was a really good win on the road tonight,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “Our guys were tremendous and we got a lot of contributions from a lot of players. The big thing was taking care of the ball. That has been a huge thing for us. Also until the end when they were fouling, the longest we went was five possessions without a field goal. That is big for our offense.”

Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. led the way for the Panthers with 21 points on 9-13 shooting, including a 3-4 mark from behind the arc. Fellow senior Anthony Lindauer scored 15 points, all in the second half, to go along with a career-high seven assists and five rebounds. Senior Tarique Thompson also finished in double figures with 13 off the bench.

The Panther defense shut down Gardner-Webb, holding the Runnin’ Bulldogs 12 points below their season average while forcing 15 turnovers and scoring 20 points off those turnovers.

LaQuincy Rideau led Gardner-Webb with 22 points and six assists, but also finished with seven turnovers. The Purple & White shut down GWU leading scorer Tyrell Nelson, who was held to just four points on the night on 1-6 shooting.

The pair of Bowman Jr. (seven points) and Thompson (six) helped spur the Panthers to an early 13-5 lead, scoring all of HPU’s points, including a 10-0 run for the Purple & White.

High Point’s lead remained at eight, 18-10, when a 15-5 run by the Runnin’ Bulldogs over a five-minute span allowed the hosts to take a two-point lead with four minutes to go in the half. GWU went 7-8 from the floor during the run to turn an eight-point deficit into a two-point lead.

Down by three in the final second of the first half, Fox drew a foul while shooting a 3-pointer and sank two of three from the line to send the Panthers into the break trailing 31-30.

High Point carried over the finish to the first half into the second where the Panthers started on a 15-6 run, culminating with a Lindauer 3-pointer that put HPU up 45-37 five minutes into the period.

Gardner-Webb closed to within one at 46-45 with 11 minutes to go on a jumper by David Efianayi, but the hosts could not pull ahead as Thompson hit a jumper and freshman Jamal Wright nailed a three to extend the Panther advantage to six. High Point slowly built the lead over the next seven minutes, going up by as much as 11 on two free throws by Lindauer before ultimately winning by seven.

High Point next returns home to the Millis Center where the team will host Longwood in a New Year’s Eve matchup on Saturday, Dec. 31. Tip in the game is set for 4 p.m.