HPU Men’s Basketball: Panthers’ Second-Half Comeback Downs Campbell, 57-56

• HPU came from down nine points at halftime to defeat Campbell, 57-56
• Down the stretch, juniors Brandonn Kamga and Jahaad Proctor made big shots to spur the comeback
• Kamga recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team came storming back after trailing by nine at halftime to defeat Campbell, 57-56, Thursday night (Feb. 7) at the Millis Center.

With the win, the Panthers (13-10, 6-3) moved into a tie with the Camels (13-10, 6-3) in third place in the Big South standings, a half a game behind Winthrop (15-8, 7-3) for second.

Trailing High Point by one with 11 seconds, Campbell turned to the nation’s leading scorer, Chris Clemons. He took on junior Jahaad Proctor at the top of the key, but missed a contested 25-foot jump shot at the buzzer, giving the Panthers the win.

High Point shot 41.3 percent for the game (19-46), but held the Camels to 36.5 percent shooting (19-52). The Panthers held a 35-26 advantage on the boards. HPU committed just two turnovers in the second half.

“We were down nine in the second half, but we hung in there and it was a good comeback for us,” HPU head coach Tubby Smith said. “The way we got back into the game was we took good care of the ball with only two turnovers in second half, which was huge after 12 in the first half. It was a good win and I thought our kids really stepped up. They didn’t panic and hit some big shots down the stretch.”

In the first half, the Panthers turned the ball over 12 times, but was able to hold the Camels to 39.3 percent shooting (11-28) and keep the halftime deficit to single digits at 30-21.

The Panthers took their first lead of the second half at 50-49 on a put back by senior Ricky Madison with 5:07 remaining. Proctor made four consecutive free throws and with the game tied at 54, junior Brandonn Kamga hit a 3-pointer to give the Purple & White the lead for good.

Kamga led the HPU with 17 points and 11 rebounds, his second double-double in the last three games. Proctor added 16 and was 10 of 12 from the line.

Clemons led Campbell with 23 points.

These two teams will play again in two weeks on Feb. 21 in Buies Creek, N.C. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and will tip at 9 p.m.

Up next, the Panthers play at Radford on Saturday (Feb. 9). Tip-off at the Dedmon Center in Radford, Va., is set for 4 p.m.