High Point MBB Falls to Richmond, 74-59, in Holiday HoopsFest

• The Panthers were defeated by Richmond, 74-59, at the Events DC Holiday HoopsFest
• Junior Jahaad Proctor led all scorers with 23 points.
• HPU plays at Ohio State on Dec. 29 at noon

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team fell to Richmond, 74-59, as part of the EventsDC Holiday HoopsFest Saturday afternoon (Dec. 22) at the brand-new Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.

The Panthers (6-6) shot 44 percent from the field (22-50), while Richmond (5-7) made half of its shots (21-42). HPU held a small advantage on the boards, 29-27, while the Spiders had six blocks to the Panthers’ one.

“They did a good job obviously; they forced us into mistakes and then we were trying to do too much at times,” HPU head coach Tubby Smith said. “We just need to take care of the basketball better and also need to shoot the ball better, as we didn’t shoot the ball great in the first half from 3-point range and was not much better in the second.”

Junior Jahaad Proctor led all scorers with 23 points, the eighth time in nine games he has scored 20 or more points. Freshman Curtis Holland II scored nine, while senior Jordan Whitehead and sophomore Tim Cameron each added eight.

Richmond led 51-34 with 13:49 remaining when the Panthers went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 10 at 51-41, but that was as close they would get, as Richmond extended the advantage to 19 with 6:08 remaining.

In the first half, Richmond’s Nathan Cayo was 6-6 from the field and scored 17 points as the Spiders shot 50 percent from the field (12-24). High Point was held to 36 percent shooting (9-25), as Richmond led at the break, 39-25.

The Spiders were led by Cayo, who finished with 20 points, Grant Golden, who had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jacob Gilyard, who added 18 points, nine assists and seven steals.

Up next, the Panthers travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State on Dec. 29. Tip-off is set for noon and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.