HPU Men’s Basketball Opens Season with 100-66 Romp over William & Mary

• The Panthers reached the 100-point plateau for the first time against a Division I opponent in over 10 years.
• Sophomore transfer Jahaad Proctor (28) and junior Andre Fox (22) were the first HPU teammates to each score 20 or more since January 2015.
• The Panthers shot 60.7 percent from the field, the third-best mark against a Division I opponent in program history.

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team recorded one of the best shooting nights in its Division I history on the way to a 100-66 victory over William & Mary in the 2017 season opener Friday night (Nov. 10) at the Millis Center.

With 100 points, the Panthers (1-0) reached the triple-digit mark for the first time since against UVA-Wise (111-74) on Dec. 13, 2015 and the first time against a Division I opponent since VMI (109-92) on Feb. 24, 2007.

The Purple & White shot 60.7 percent (37-61) from the field, which is the eighth-best shooting night in HPU’s Division I history and third-best against a Division I opponent.

“I told the guys in the locker room after the game that this was one of the best, if not the best, performance at High Point since I’ve been here,” HPU head coach Scott Cherry said. “I’m proud of our guys for the way they performed from start to finish on both ends of the floor. The three-headed monster of Proctor, Kamga and Fox produced at a very high level and I was really happy with how all of our guys played.”

In his Panther debut, sophomore transfer Jahaad Proctor recorded a career-high 28 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, while also adding six assists and five rebounds. Junior Andre Fox was one shy of his career high with 22 points and six rebounds.

It was the first game High Point has had two players with 20 or more points since Jan. 14, 2015 when John Brown and Adam Weary each had 23 against Gardner-Webb.

Sophomore Brandonn Kamga had 18 points and seven rebounds in his first HPU appearance, while senior Austin White and sophomore Jamal Wright each had three steals.

After a blistering pace that saw the Tribe leading 16-15 with 13:46 left in the first half, the Panthers went on a 10-0 run that included a 3-pointer and a 3-point play by Fox. William & Mary hit three 3-pointers in the first 4:10, but only hit 2-of-17 the rest of the way.

The closest the Tribe came within the rest of the first half was at 36-30 with 4:59 remaining, but another 3-point play by Fox ended a mini run. The largest lead of the half was 16 at 51-35, but William & Mary had the last four to end the frame.

Fox had 20 at the break on 6-of-10 shooting with two 3-point shots and 6-6 shooting from the charity stripe. In his first half as a Panther, Proctor was 4-of-5 from 3-point range and recorded 16 points and four assists.

The 12-point difference at the beginning of the second half only as Kamga and senior Jordan Whitehead assisted on each other’s bucket to begin the half. The Panthers extended the lead to 40 at the 3:17 mark before winning by a margin of 34.

High Point improved to 67-24 all-time in season openers, 11-8 in the Division I era and 7-2 under Cherry.

Next up, the Panthers travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to face Tennessee on Tuesday night (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m.