HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (20-7, 11-4) hosts Presbyterian College (9-19, 5-10) on Saturday in the team’s final home game of the 2014-15 season.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Millis Center. At 6:45 p.m., HPU will honor its five senior student-athletes and two senior managers for their outstanding contributions to the program. The senior student-athletes include Quincy Drye, Tré Duncan, Brian Richardson, Devante Wallace and John Brown, who is a senior in academic standing. The two senior managers are Tyler Burns and Wayne Wanzor.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on the Big South Network, featuring commentary from Sean Hamilton (play-by-play) and Ameer Tyree (color commentary). In addition, “Voice of the Panthers” Evan Lepler and Stafford Stephenson also will call the game on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
With an 11-4 league record, HPU is tied with Charleston Southern for first place in the Big South standings.
HPU has won 20 games for just the second time in its Div. I history and 17th time in the 87-year history of the program. The team’s top DI win total came in 2006-07 (22-10).
Last time out, HPU raced past Gardner-Webb, 83-62, on Saturday inside the Millis Center. HPU limited the Runnin’ Bulldogs top Big South scoring offense (74.5 ppg) to just 62 points and 36.2 percent shooting in the contest.
Despite John Brown being held to two points and 0 field goals for the first time in two years, HPU shot 57.9 percent and 69.2 percent from 3-point territory in the win. Five Panthers scored in double figures, led by a game-high 19 points (7-8 FG, 4-5 3pt FG) from Lorenzo Cugini and 15 from Brian Richardson.
HPU is shooting 48.3 percent (28-58) from 3-point territory over the past four games. The Panthers lead the conference in 3-point percentage in league play (.448) and rank 22nd nationally with a 39.4 percent clip overall from beyond the arc this season.
HPU is ranked No. 94 out of 351 teams in Friday’s NCAA RPI report and No. 24 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top-25 poll.
WALLACE SHARPSHOOTS HIS WAY TO ALL-TIME RANKING
Through three seasons at HPU, Devante Wallace is the program’s all-time leader in three-point percentage at .430. Wallace’s 174 three-pointers rank third in a career at HPU and his 78 three-pointers in 2013-14 ranked third most in HPU single season history. His .491 3-point field goal percentage last season ranked second in the nation and set a new Big South record for 3-point percentage. He shot 59 percent from 3-point land in league play last season and is up to 47.9 percent in league games in 2014-15.
A LOOK AT THE BLUE HOSE (9-19, 5-10)
Presbyterian was picked to finish 10th in the Big South preseason poll and posted a 4-9 mark in non-conference play. PC is 5-10 in Big South play and currently sits in eighth place. The Blue Hose are 3-9 on the road this season. In its most recent outing, Presbyterian fell at Charleston Southern, 75-49, on Wednesday. Presbyterian is led by the two-headed scoring machine of Jordan Downing and DeSean Murray. Downing, a senior, is averaging 16.4 ppg (7th in Big South) while Murray, a freshman, is at 16.3 ppg and 7.6 rpg in 16 games this season. Junior guard Austin Anderson is averaging a team-high 2.8 assists per game.
HISTORY vs. PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE
Saturday’s matchup with Presbyterian will mark the 20th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Blue Hose. HPU leads the all-time series 11-8 (.579) and has captured eight of the past nine meetings. PC’s last win inside the Millis Center came on Feb. 2, 2012, when the Blue Hose escaped with a 65-62 victory. HPU won the first meeting this season, 63-54, in Clinton. Junior Lorenzo Cugini posted 15 points and was 5-of-7 from the field in the victory.
UP NEXT
HPU plays the first of two Big South road games to wrap up the regular season when the Panthers play at UNC Asheville on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.