• The Panthers outscored Tennessee, 40-32, in the second half, but fell in its road opener, 84-53.
• Sophomore Jahaad Proctor led all scorers with 17 points
• HPU hosts The Citadel on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 18) at 2 p.m.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—The High Point University men’s basketball team fell in its road opener at Tennessee, 84-53, Tuesday night (Nov. 14) at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.
After the Volunteers (2-0) used a 32-0 run and led at the halftime break, 52-13, the Panthers shot 42.4 percent in the second half and outscored Tennessee, 40-32, in the second frame. HPU closed the game on an 11-0 run.
“At halftime, I told the guys that the biggest thing for us was to try to figure out a way to deal with the adversity,” HPU head coach Scott Cherry said. “In a situation like this, I told them to just try to play through it, be positive and be a little bit better than we were in the first half. We didn’t really stick to the game plan early on.
“What I’m really proud of, and I told the team at the end, was there wasn’t any complaining and yelling at one another. There were guys trying to help each other, trying to communicate and do the things we talked about at halftime. Any team can quit when they’re in those circumstances, but our guys didn’t.”
Sophomore Jahaad Proctor led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while junior Andre Fox had 13 points, three 3-point field goals in the second half.
In his second career start, senior Jordan Whitehead had a career-high six points, while freshman Justyn Mutts had a season-high three blocks. Freshman Denny Slay dished out a season-high five assists.
Tennessee outrebounded HPU, 47-31, and outshot the Panthers 47.4 percent to 33.3 percent. Both teams had seven steals, while UT led in blocks 9-4.
The Vols hit 12 3-pointers, including four by Lamonte Turner, who finished with 16 points.
The Panthers return to action Saturday (Nov. 18) when they host The Citadel for Military Appreciation Day. Tip-off at the Millis Center is set for 2 p.m.