HPU MBB Storms Back To Win At Charleston So., 78-73

• HPU closed the game on a 17-4 run and held the Bucs scoreless over the final 4:24
• Redshirt-senior John Brown posted a game-high 27 points and tallied seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks
• The win marked High Point’s first victory in the Buc Dome since the 2008-09 season

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (11-4, 4-0) closed the game on a 17-4 run to complete a furious comeback win at Charleston Southern, 78-73, on Saturday night in the Buc Dome.

HPU held the Buccaneers without a field goal over the final 4:24 to earn the victory and move to 2-0 in Big South road games this season. CSU missed their last six shots and were two of their last 12 in the game.

Charleston Southern (5-9, 1-2) led 48-40 at the half and 69-61 with 8:13 to go, but the Panthers limited the Bucs to just four points over the final eight minutes.

The victory marked HPU’s first win in the Buc Dome since the 2008-09 campaign.

“To turn around and win on the road with less than 48 hours rest is huge for us,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “We regrouped at halftime and fought every single possession in the second half. Our guys were tired, bumped and bruised, but they came up huge down the stretch. This was an outstanding team victory tonight.”

Redshirt-senior John Brown put together one of his trademark monster games Saturday. The Jacksonville, Fla., native poured in a game-high 27 points on 8-of 13 shooting and converted 11-of-13 attempts at the free throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds and tallied three steals and two blocks in 31 minutes. 17 of Brown’s 27 points came in the deciding second half.

Senior forward Lorenzo Cugini poured in 17 points and hit a critical 3-pointer to give HPU the lead with 2:29 to play. Cugini entered the game No. 3 nationally in 3-point percentage and was a perfect 4-of-4 from deep against the Buccaneers.

Junior guard Anthony Lindauer tallied 11 points (2-4 3pt FG) and five rebounds, while senior guard Adam Weary chipped in 10 points (4-7 FG), four assists and four rebounds.

After CSU shot 53.1 percent in the first half, HPU limited the Bucs to just 34.5 percent in the second stanza. The Buccaneers made 12 of their first 26 3-pointers (.462), but missed their last eight as HPU turned up the defense late in the game.

The Panthers distributed 18 assists on 27 field goals and held sizable advantages in points off turnovers (19-11) and fast break points (12-4) in the game.

The two teams played to an early 7-7 tie before the Panthers blitzed the Buccaneers with a 13-0 run to take a 20-7 lead at the 14:05 mark of the half. The run included a pair of 3-pointers from Cugini and Lindauer.

The Panthers led 33-23 after a bucket from Lindauer, but from there, the Buccaneers started hitting their 3-pointers to make a big move. CSU nailed a trio of them during a huge 19-2 run that flipped the game and gave the Buccaneers a 44-35 edge with 2:46 to play in the stanza.

HPU cut it to four (44-40) on a 3-point play from Brown, but Charleston Southern scored the final four points of the period to take a 48-40 lead into the break.

CSU shot 44.4 percent (8-18) from long distance in the half, but also converted 9-of-15 attempts from inside the arc.

Cugini registered a 4-point play and Brown hit a pair of free throws to pull HPU within four (50-46) at the 18:36 mark of the second half. The CSU lead fluctuated from three to seven over the next 10 minutes, before the Bucs pushed it back to eight (69-61) with eight minutes to go in the game.

From there, the Panthers took command, using an 8-0 run – highlighted by a 3-pointer from Weary and 3-point play from Brown – to tie it up at 69-69 with six minutes remaining.

CSU posted the next four points to re-take the lead at 73-69, but the Bucs would not score for the final 4:24 of the game.

Weary nailed a lay-in with 3:51 to go (73-71), then Cugini hit the huge 3-pointer 90 seconds later to give the Panthers their first lead (74-73) since the 5:07 mark of the first half.

Cugini converted a lay-in with 1:53 to go (76-73), and free throws from Brown with 41 seconds to play iced the game for the Panthers.

With the victory, HPU improves to 10-3 (.769) in its last 14 Big South road games and 23-5 (.821) in its last 28 conference games overall.

High Point now enjoys a week-long competitive break before returning to action next Saturday (Jan. 9) with a home matchup vs. Presbyterian College. Tip-off between the Panthers and Blue Hose is scheduled for 4 p.m.