HPU men’s basketball welcomes UNC Asheville to Millis Saturday

WHEN: Saturday, February 4, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Millis Center (1,750)
RECORDS: High Point (13-10, 7-4), UNC Asheville (17-7, 9-2)
SERIES RECORD: UNC Asheville leads 29-21
LAST MEETING: UNC Asheville def. High Point, 88-58, on Jan. 7, 2017
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN3
LIVE AUDIO: High Point Panther Radio Network
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team will go for its seventh-straight win on Saturday, Feb. 4, when it returns home to the Millis Center to take on UNC Asheville on ESPN3.

Kevin Burke and Chucky Brown will be on the call on ESPN3 while Ford Martin and Stafford Stephenson will be on the call on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.

PAW PRINTS
• High Point scored a season-high 92 points and matched its season high with 12 3-pointers in a 92-68 win at Longwood on Wednesday. The Panthers hit nine 3-pointers and scored 53 points in the first half for their highest scoring half of the season.
• Five HPU players scored in double digits against the Lancers, led by redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. and senior Anthony Lindauer who both matched their career highs in the victory. Bowman Jr. shot 9-13 overall and 4-5 from behind the arc to finish with 24 points while Lindauer shot 7-8 overall and matched his career-high with five 3-pointers to finish with 19 points. Senior Tarique Thompson and freshman Jamal Wright both finished with 12 in the contest while sophomore Andre Fox chipped in with 10.
• After missing two seasons with knee injuries, Bowman Jr. has emerged as one of the top players in the Big South. He is 10th in the league in scoring at 13.9 points per game but is averaging 16.0 in conference play. The redshirt-senior ranks among the nation’s leaders in free throw shooting and rebounding and he leads the Big South with 11 double-doubles in 22 games. He is one of just 27 players in the nation to record at least 11 double-doubles this season.
• Despite ranking as one of the shortest teams in Div. I this season according to KenPom, High Point has been the top rebounding teams in the Big South since the start of league play. The Panthers have won the rebounding battle in nine-straight games and lead the Big South with a +6.7 rebounding margin in conference play. For the season, High Point has allowed just 32.3 rebounds per game, tops in the conference.
• The Panthers feature two players ranked in the top-10 in the Big South in rebounding. Bowman Jr. is ranked second in the Big South and 48th in the nation with 9.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Ricky Madison ranks ninth in the league with 6.0 rebounds per game.
• HPU has excelled in free throw shooting on the road, going 164-207 (.792). Overall, High Point ranks third in the Big South and 81st in the nation in free throw percentage at .729 (345-472). Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr., leads the Big South and is 11th in the nation in free throw percentage at .907 (78-86).
• Wright currently sits second in the Big South in assists per game (4.0) in his first collegiate campaign. He has 91 assists while committing just 55 turnovers and is third in the conference with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

HISTORY vs. UNC ASHEVILLE
High Point trails in the all-time series against UNC Asheville with a 21-29 record in 50 meetings. The Panthers dropped their game against the Bulldogs in Asheville, N.C., on Jan. 7 by a score of 88-58. HPU fell behind 12-0 before getting its first basket of the game thanks to senior Tarique Thompson. Asheville shot 56.9 percent (29-51) from the field and 61.9 percent (13-21) from behind the arc. Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead HPU while Thompson (10 points) and senior Anthony Lindauer (13) combined to score 23 off the bench. High Point is undefeated in its past three games against UNC Asheville at the Millis Center. The Bulldogs last road win against HPU came on Jan. 14, 2012 when Asheville picked up an 86-79 win.

HISTORY vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS
High Point has complied a 330-272 (.548) record all-time against Div. I programs hailing from the Tar Heel State. HPU’s most common opponents are Elon (86-76, .531), Appalachian State (60-36, .625) and Western Carolina (40-23, .635). The majority of those meetings came during the NAIA era. High Point is 80-72 (.526) against Big South programs from North Carolina and 250-200 (.556) against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. HPU is 3-2 against Div. I teams from North Carolina this season with wins over UNCG, Gardner-Webb and Campbell and losses to Western Carolina and UNC Asheville.

A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS (17-7, 9-2 BIG SOUTH)
UNC Asheville has won four-straight games entering the weekend and is 17-7 overall with a 9-2 record in the Big South. Asheville is the top 3-point shooting team in the conference at 40.9 percent and is second in the conference in scoring at 76.1 points per game. Junior Ahmad Thomas leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game and has upped his production in conference play, scoring 18.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Big South. He is shooting .528 from the floor and .517 from behind the arc while also leading the team in rebounding with 6.6 rebounds per game. Freshman MaCio Teague is the favorite for Big South Freshman of the Year and is averaging 15 points per game while shooting .467 from the field and .450 from three.

UP NEXT
High Point returns to the road on Thursday, Feb. 9, when the team heads to Clinton, S.C., to take on Presbyterian College. Tip in the game is set for 7 p.m., and it will be HPU’s fifth contest on the road in seven games.