HPU MBB earns 75-72 OT victory at Radford

• Anthony Lindauer nailed a 3-pointer with five seconds left to send the game to OT; HPU was +3 (9-6) in the OT session
• Redshirt-junior Miles Bowman Jr. posted a career-high 17 points in 27 minutes
• With the win, HPU matches the school record for Big South road wins in a season (6)

RADFORD, Va. – The High Point University men’s basketball team (18-9, 11-5) kept its Big South title hopes very much alive Saturday afternoon with a gritty 75-72 victory over Radford (15-13, 8-8) inside the Dedmon Center.

High Point trailed by three (66-63) with less than 15 seconds to play, but junior Anthony Lindauer nailed a clutch triple to send the game into overtime. HPU outscored the Highlanders, 9-6, in the extra session to earn the important road victory.

With the win, HPU moves into second place in the Big South standings and has a chance to tie for the conference lead in a huge game against Winthrop Thursday.

The coming out party of redshirt-junior Miles Bowman Jr. reached its apex Saturday, as the Winston-Salem product posted career highs in points (17) and minutes (27) against the Highlanders. He scored four of HPU’s nine points in overtime.

“This was a tough, tough game, but we came together as a team, grinded it out and finished it,” Bowman said. “We had faith in Anthony to make that shot and then we made some big stops in overtime. To be able to play with my team and help us win feels great.”

The road win was just HPU’s second at Radford in the last eight years and improved the Panthers to 6-2 on the road in league play this season. It marks the second-straight season that the Panthers have registered a school-record six Big South road wins. The victory was HPU’s fourth-straight overall; the Panthers also have won their last four Big South road games.

Radford held a 30-22 edge on the glass and was +4 (50-46) in the paint, but High Point shot the ball well and made 50 percent (28-56) of its attempts on the night. HPU shot 45.5 percent (5-11) from deep and limited the Highlanders to just 22.2 percent (4-18) from long range.

Redshirt-senior forward John Brown chipped in 17 points, four steals and two assists in 40 minutes, while senior Adam Weary fouled out late in regulation, but still finished with 10 points (5-7 FG).

Senior Haiishen McIntyre dished out six assists (just one turnover) and finished with four points in 35 minutes.

Fueled by Bowman’s performance, the HPU bench held another sizable scoring advantage (41-17) over its opponent’s reserves. Lindauer notched nine points (3-5 FG) and three assists on the day, while freshman Andre Fox added nine points and four rebounds. Freshman forward Ricky Madison tallied six big points in eight minutes off the bench.

High Point jumped out to a 13-10 lead and moved the advantage to five (22-17) on a 3-pointer by Fox at the 6:57 mark of the first half. Austin White nailed a triple to keep the Panthers ahead five (30-25) with under a minute to play in the half and the Panthers took a 30-27 lead into the break.

With the Panthers ahead 34-32 just two minutes into the second stanza, HPU created some much-needed breathing room from the Highlanders. The Purple & White put together a critical 10-0 run over the next three minutes that put HPU up 12 (44-32) at the 14:20 mark of the half.

HPU extended the lead to 13 (47-34) on a 3-point play from Bowman, but with HPU ahead by 11 (50-39), the Highlanders held the Panthers without a field goal over the next 3:19 of action.

The resulting 12-1 run tied up the game (51-51) with 6:53 to play.

The Panthers blitzed back with a 5-0 spurt to go back up five (56-51), but Radford again went on a run (10-2) to take a three-point lead (61-58) with 2:48 to play.

Five in a row for the Purple & White built the Panther lead back to two (63-61) with 1:33 left, but the Highlanders scored the next five to up three (66-63) with 16 seconds left.

High Point’s final regulation possession was executed flawlessly, ending with a wing 3-pointer from Lindauer that was nothing but net.

HPU stopped Radford on its last possession to send the game into overtime.

With the victory, HPU is now 1-1 in OT games this season.

High Point now faces a monster Senior Night matchup against Winthrop Thursday (9 p.m.) with first place on the line. The game inside the Millis Center will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.