HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team starts off the second half of conference play with a road contest at league leaders Winthrop on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m.
Kevin Burke will be on the call on the High Point Panthers Radio Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m.
PAW PRINTS
• In the first meeting between the two teams, four players reached double figures for the Purple & White led by redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. and senior Tarique Thompson who both had 15 in the contest. Bowman Jr. also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double in the contest. Sophomore Andre Fox had 14 off the bench and freshman Jamal Wright scored 13 in the loss. HPU trailed by just one with less than 90 seconds left before Winthrop scored the final five points to seal the road win.
• High Point comes into Saturday’s game on a four-game win streak after picking up a 72-69 overtime win at home against Charleston Southern on Thursday. Fox scored 22 points, including eight in the overtime period to lead all scorers in the contest.
• Bowman Jr., and Thompson both registered double-doubles against the Buccaneers as Bowman Jr. finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Thompson had 10 points and 10 rebounds. It was the first time since 2013 that High Point had two players notch double-doubles in the same game. Bowman Jr. has recorded three-straight double-doubles and is one of just 29 players in the nation to record at least 10 double-doubles this season.
• Despite ranking as one of the shortest teams in the Div. I this season according to KenPom, High Point has been the top rebounding teams in the Big South since the start of league play. After outrebounding Charleston Southern by seven, the Panthers now have a +7.0 rebounding margin in Big South play and have won the rebounding battle in each of its past seven games. For the season, High Point has allowed just 32.4 rebounds per game, tops in the conference.
• The Panthers feature two players ranked in the top-10 in the Big South in rebounding. Bowman Jr. is ranked second in the Big South and 44th in the nation with 9.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore Ricky Madison ranks ninth in the league with 6.1 rebounds per game.
• 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 .723 (336-461). Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr., leads the Big South and is 16th in the nation in free throw percentage at .902 (74-82).
• Wright currently sits second in the Big South in assists per game (3.9) in his first collegiate campaign. He has 82 assists while committing just 50 turnovers and is third in the conference with a 1.76assist-to-turnover ratio.
HISTORY vs. WINTHROP
High Point trails in the all-time series against Winthrop with a 13-27 record in 40 meetings. The two sides have split their last six meetings stretching back to 2014, including Winthrop’s 80-74 win earlier this season at the Millis Center. The Panthers’ last win in Rock Hill was a 90-87 double-overtime win on Jan. 3, 2015. John Brown led all scorers in the game with 33 points on 15-28 shooting. Adam Weary scored 15 off the bench for HPU while Brian Richardson chipped in with 13. Seniors Tarique Thompson and Anthony Lindauer and junior Austin White are the only three players currently on the roster that appeared in the game. The trio was scoreless in 17 combined minutes of action but did have five rebounds and two assists.
HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
High Point has complied a 77-90 (.461) 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 (20-16, .556). High Point is 48-51 (.485) against Big South programs from South Carolina and 29-39 (.426) against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. HPU is 2-2 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 and a 70-69 overtime win against Charleston Southern, both at the Millis Center.
A LOOK AT THE EAGLES (16-4, 8-1 BIG SOUTH)
Winthrop sits at 16-4 overall and 8-1 in the Big South and is on a seven-game win streak that started with the win over High Point on Jan. 4. The Eagles were unanimously picked first in the Big South Preseason Poll after finishing last season with a 23-9 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the conference. Winthrop is tops in the league in scoring at 77.1 points per game and is led by the pair of Keon Johnson and Xavier Cooks. Johnson is second in the Big South and 29th in the country in scoring at 20.0 points per game while Cooks is seventh in the conference at 15.3 points per game. Johnson has 14 games this season in which has scored 20 or more points, including a 38-point performance in a Winthrop upset at Illinois and 37 against Radford.
UP NEXT
High Point remains on the road next week as the team heads to Famville, Va., to take on the Loncers of Longwood University on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Tip in the game is set for 7 p.m. The Panthers will look for some revenge against the Lancers after losing at home to Longwood earlier this season.