HPU MBB Plays at Gardner-Webb Tuesday Night

WHEN: Wednesday, January 9, 2018 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: Boiling Springs, N.C. | Paul Porter Arena (3,500)
RECORDS: High Point (7-7, 2-1 Big South) | Gardner-Webb (7-9, 2-1 Big South)
SERIES RECORD: 54th meeting, HPU leads, 27-26
LIVE STATS: Click here
AUDIO: High Point Panther Radio Network
VIDEO: Big South Network
GAME NOTES: Click here

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team (7-7, 2-1 Big South) continues conference play on the road at Gardner-Webb on Tuesday night (Jan. 9). Tip-off at the Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C., is set for 7 p.m.

Kevin Burke and Stafford Stephenson will be back on the call on for the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with coverage starting at approximately 6:30 p.m.

PAW PRINTS
• This will be the 54th meeting between the two programs, with the Panthers holding a slim 27-26 margin. Last season, both road teams were victorious during the regular-season series, while the Runnin’ Bulldogs won the rubber match, 91-55, in the Big South Quarterfinals.
• The Panthers are coming off of an 80-59 win over Big South foe Charleston Southern on Saturday night (Jan. 6) at the Millis Center. Sophomore Jahaad Proctor scored a career-high 29 points and was 5-6 from 3-point range. Junior Andre Fox recorded 20 points, while sophomore Brandon Kamga added 12.
• Sophomore Jahaad Proctor has regained his early-season form after missing five games with an ankle injury. In his five games back in action, Proctor is averaging 18.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
• In addition to regaining his scoring form, Proctor has had four assists in each of the last four games. He has six games with four or more assists and HPU is 5-1 in those contests.
• The biggest beneficiary of Proctor’s presence in the lineup is junior Andre Fox. In the five games without Proctor, Fox averaged 14.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game and shot 43.5 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range. However, with Proctor in action, Fox is shooting 58.4 percent from the field and 59.1 percent from three and is averaging 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest.
• Fox has scored 20 or more points in three consecutive contests after pouring in 20 against Charleston Southern. He had a career-high 27 against UNC Asheville and added 21 at Winthrop. Fox has eight games with at least 20 points this season, where he had six such games in all of 2016-17.
• Fox is currently second in the Big South in scoring at 18.2 points per game and field goal percentage at 52.8 percent. He is currently shooting 54.8 percent from 3-point range, which is on pace to break the single-season school record of 52.1 percent, set by Jarius Simms in 2009-10.
• The Panthers are shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range, 31st in the nation, but have only taken 196 attempts from long range, the third-fewest of the nation. High Point’s point distribution comes mostly from the two-point variety at 55.8 percent, the 32nd-most in the nation.

HISTORY vs. GARDNER-WEBB
High Point holds a slim 27-26 lead in the all-time series against Gardner-Webb. The two teams split the regular-season series, with both road teams picking up wins, before the Runnin’ Bulldogs had a 91-55 triumph in a 2017 Big South Tournament quarterfinal. Miles Bowman Jr. had 21 points in his final game in the Purple & White, while GWU had five players in double figures.

A LOOK AT THE RUNNIN’ BULLDOGS (7-9, 2-1 Big South)
Gardner-Webb comes into the game on the heels of a 79-73 loss to Longwood on Saturday (Jan. 6) in Farmville, Va. The loss to the Lancers snapped a four-game win streak for GWU. David Efianayi leads the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 17.1 points per contest (fourth in the Big South), while DJ Laster (14.3) and Liam O’Reilly (14.2) are also averaging in double figures. Laster is also fifth in the conference with 6.1 rebounds per game and O’Reilly is third in the Big South with 3.5 assists per contest.

HISTORY vs. IN-STATE OPPONENTS
High Point has complied a 333-276 (.547) record all-time against Division 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 (41-23, .641). The majority of those meetings came during the NAIA era. High Point is 82-75 (.522) against Big South programs from North Carolina and 251-201 (.555) against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. HPU is 2-1 against Division I schools from North Carolina this season. The Panthers defeated Western Carolina and UNC Asheville, and fell to Charlotte.

NEXT UP
The Panthers continue Big South play on Friday (Jan. 12) when they travel to Buies Creek, N.C., to face Campbell at 7 p.m.