HIGH POINT, N.C. – After a week of unprecedented success on the sunny shores of Hawai’i, the High Point University men’s basketball team returns to the chilly Lower 48 to face off with A-10 foe Richmond on Saturday inside the Robins Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Richmond, Va. Saturday’s game will air live on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with Kevin Burke and Stafford Stephenson on the call. The game also will be broadcast on CSN+ in the Washington D.C./Virginia/Maryland area, with Bob Black and Greg Beckwith with handling the broadcast. Fans also can purchase a video stream of the game on Richmond’s website via SpiderTV.
HPU is 3-0 for the first time in the Division I era after winning the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic to open the 2014-15 campaign in Honolulu. The Panthers have not posted a 3-0 start to the season since the 1994-95 campaign when HPU opened with a 5-0 mark at the Division II level. The Div. I era began in 1999-2000.
The Panthers won the Rainbow Classic with a 62-54 title game victory over Hawai’i on Nov. 18. The game was televised live on ESPN2 as part of ESPN’s 24-hour College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. It marked HPU’s first appearance on ESPN2 since 2004.
The Panthers trailed by nine (51-42) with less than seven minutes to play, but put together a meticulous 20-3 run down the stretch to race to a comeback victory. Redshirt-junior John Brown led HPU with 19 points (9-18 FG) against the Rainbow Warriors and was named Rainbow Classic MVP after averaging 19.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and a 55.2 FG% in the event.
Senior guard Devante Wallace earned Rainbow Classic All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 15.0 ppg and a team-high 6.0 rpg. He posted a career-best 32 points (7-11 3pt FG) in the 4OT win over Bakersfield to open the season. With one 3-pointer vs. Richmond on Saturday, Wallace will move past Zione White (2003-05) and into solo sixth place on HPU’s all-time 3-pointers made list. Both players are tied for sixth currently with 128 career treys.
TARIQUE’S TURN
After scoring 29 total points in all of 2013-14, sophomore forward Tarique Thompson already has eclipsed that mark this season with 34 points over HPU’s first three games. The Raeford, N.C., native is averaging 11.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg and poured in a career-best 19 points and seven rebounds in the 4OT win over Bakersfield on Nov. 14. Thompson started 2-of-3 games in Hawai’i.
A LOOK AT THE SPIDERS (1-1)
Richmond was picked to finish fifth out of 14 teams in the 2014-15 Atlantic 10 preseason poll. The Spiders return 10 letter winners and 4-of-5 starters from a 2013-14 squad that posted a 19-14 record, including an 8-8 league mark. The team is 1-1 in 2014-15 after defeating Radford in its season opener (64-46) and falling at Old Dominion, 63-57, on Nov. 18. Richmond is led by preseason All-A-10 first team selection Kendall Anthony. The 5-foot-8-inch point guard leads the Spiders with 13.0 ppg after averaging 18.7 ppg in conference play last season en route to second team All-A-10 accolades.
HISTORY vs. RICHMOND
Saturday’s game will mark the first-ever matchup between High Point and Richmond in men’s basketball.
HISTORY vs. A-10 OPPONENTS
HPU is 2-4 all-time against current members of the Atlantic-10 Conference. The two Panther wins came against Virginia Commonwealth (109-77) on Jan. 15, 1969, in High Point, and Davidson (51-43) during the 1934-35 campaign. In the most recent meeting with an A-10 foe, HPU fell to Duquesne in Pittsburgh on Nov. 14, 2008 in the 2008-09 season opener.
UP NEXT
HPU returns to the Millis Center for its home opener against William Peace on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets online or by calling the HPU Ticket Office at (336) 841-9276.