Men’s Basketball: High Point Hangs Tough, but Falls at Pitt, 71-63

• HPU forced 22 turnovers and had 11 steals, but fell at Pitt, 71-63
• Freshman Denny Slay had his best HPU game yet, scoring 12 points
• Junior Andre Fox scored 20 or more points for the fourth time this season (20 points)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The High Point University men’s basketball team fought tough, forcing 22 turnovers, but fell at Pitt, 71-63, Tuesday night (Nov. 28) at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

HPU (2-4) clawed back to take the lead 47-44 with 9:06 to go, but Pitt (3-4) scored the next three buckets to take back an advantage they would not concede. High Point held Pittsburgh without a field goal the final 4:06, but Pitt hit 14-consecutive free throws to seal the victory.

The Purple & White forced Pitt into 22 turnovers and had 11 steals, while only committing 10 turnovers. Pitt led in rebounds, 34-30, and shot 55.0 percent (22-40) from the field, while HPU only shot 37.3 percent (25-67).

“I’m really happy and pleased with our guys,” HPU head coach Scott Cherry said. “We forced 22 turnovers, had 11 steals and only turned the ball over 10 times, which is an improvement for us from previous games. We took the lead in the second half, but had some empty possessions and give them credit; they made some timely shots. I thought we did a great job defensively, but we need to take advantages of the chances when we get them.”

Junior Andre Fox scored 20 points to lead High Point. It was the fourth time this season Fox has posted 20 or more points. Freshman Denny Slay had his best game in the Purple & White, scoring a season-high 12 points with two assists and two steals. Fellow freshman Justyn Mutts added 13 points and five rebounds to go along with a season-high five steals.

In the first half, Pitt had a 28-16 lead with 3:05 remaining, but High Point closed the frame on an 11-2 run, including a jumper from freshman Denny Slay with a second to go to cut the lead to 30-27.

Pitt opened up the lead in the second half to eight with 13:49 left, but HPU again went on a big run, this time 14-2, taking the lead on a layup by Fox with 9:38 to go. Pitt’s Kameron Davis scored a layup to give Pittsburgh the lead at 48-47 with 7:40 to go.

Marcus Carr led Pitt with 19 points and was perfect from the field, including 5-5 field goals (3-3 from 3-point range) and 6-6 from the line.

Up next, High Point plays host to Johnson and Wales on Friday (Dec. 1). Tip-off at the Millis Center is set for 7 p.m.