WHEN: Thursday, January 26, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Millis Center (1,750)
RECORDS: High Point (10-10, 4-4), Charleston Southern (7-12, 3-5)
SERIES RECORD: High Point leads 19-16
LAST MEETING: High Point def. Charleston Southern, 72-50, on Feb. 13, 2016
LIVE VIDEO: Big South Network
LIVE AUDIO: High Point Panther Radio Network
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team returns home looking to build on its current three-game win streak as the team is set to take on Charleston Southern at the Millis Center on Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. The game against the Buccaneers marks the midway point of the conference season for HPU.
Kevin Burke and Stafford Stephenson will be on the call on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
PAW PRINTS
• The Panthers are coming off a 61-58 win at Radford on Saturday, their third road win of the conference season. Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr., scored a career-high 24 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds to lead HPU to its third-straight win. High Point outrebounded Radford, the top rebounding team in the Big South, 41-30 and had 16 offensive rebounds in the contest.
• Despite ranking as one of the shortest teams in the Div. I this season according to KenPom, High Point has been one of the top rebounding teams in the Big South since the start of league play. After outrebounding Radford by 11, the Panthers now have a +7.0 rebounding margin in eight Big South games and have won the rebounding battle in each of its past six games. For the season, High Point has allowed just 32.1 rebounds per game, tops in the conference.
• HPU has excelled in free throw shooting on the road, going 147-188 (.782). Overall, High Point ranks third in the Big South in free throw percentage at .715 (313-438). Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr., leads the Big South and is 19th in the nation in free throw percentage at .897 (70-78).
• Freshman Jamal Wright currently sits second in the Big South in assists per game (3.9) in his first collegiate campaign. He has 78 assists while committing just 47 turnovers and is also second in the conference with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• The double-double by Bowman Jr., at Radford was the forward’s ninth of the season. He is one of 35 players nationally with at least nine double-doubles in 2016-17. The redshirt-senior is second in the Big South and 47th nationally in rebounds/game (9.0).
HISTORY vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
High Point holds a slim 19-16 advantage in 35 all-time meetings between HPU and Charleston Southern. The Panthers claimed both games against the Buccaneers last season with a 78-73 road win and a 72-50 victory at the Millis Center. John Brown averaged 21.5 points per game in the two wins to lead High Point. Sophomore Andre Fox enjoyed one of his best games as a freshman in the home win over CSU, going for 15 points in the contest. Fox came off the bench and went 5-9 from the floor and 3-4 from behind the arc in the 22-point win. Charleston Southern’s last win over High Point in the Millis Center came on Jan. 3, 2009 when HPU lost to the Buccaneers by a score of 62-52.
HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
High Point has complied a 76-90 (.458) record all-time against Div. I programs hailing from the Palmetto State. HPU’s most common opponents are Winthrop (13-27, .325), Coastal Carolina (16-21, .432) and Charleston Southern (19-16, .543). High Point is 47-51 (.480) against Big South programs from South Carolina and 29-39 (.426) against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. HPU is 1-2 against teams from South Carolina this season having lost at Clemson and at home against Winthrop before picking up a 77-44 win over Presbyterian College at the Millis Center..
A LOOK AT THE BUCCANEERS (7-12, 3-5 BIG SOUTH)
After getting off to a slow start to the season, Charleston Southern has played better as of late with wins in three out of the past four games. Christian Keeling is the key for the Buccaneers as he is averaging over 28 points per game in CSU’s three conference wins this season. The 6-3 freshman leads the team in both scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg) and is one of the top talents in the Big South. Armel Potter is second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game while also leading the team with 3.4 assists per contest. The sure-handed point guard averaged only 1.9 turnovers per game and is tops in the Big South in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8). Cortez Mitchell is the third member of the Buccaneers talented backcourt, averaging 10.2 points per game.
UP NEXT
High Point is back on the road for two-straight starting with a return engagement against Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C., on Saturday, Jan. 28. The Panthers will try and even the season series after falling to the Eagles by a score of 80-74 earlier at the start of January. Tip is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.