Men’s Basketball: High Point Hosts Johnson & Wales Friday Night

WHEN: Friday, Dec. 1| 7 p.m.
WHERE: High Point, N.C. | Millis Center
RECORDS: High Point (2-4) | Johnson & Wales (2-3)
SERIES RECORD: Second Meeting, HPU leads 1-0
LIVE STATS: Click here
VIDEO: Big South Network
LIVE AUDIO: High Point Panthers Radio Network
GAME NOTES: Click here

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team (2-4) hosts Johnson & Wales on Friday (Dec. 1). Tip-off at the Millis Center is set for 7 p.m.

Kevin Burke and Stafford Stephenson will be back on the call on the High Point Panthers Radio Network on Friday, with pre-game coverage beginning approximately at 6:30 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on Big South Network.

PAW PRINTS
• This will be the second meeting between the two programs. HPU won the first meeting, 99-36, on Dec. 2, 2012 at the Millis Center.
• High Point is coming off a 71-63 loss at Pitt on Tuesday night (Nov. 28). HPU fought back to take a 47-44 lead with 9:06 to go, but after Pitt regained the lead a couple minutes later, High Point was unable to come back. Pitt was held without a field goal the last 4:06, but was perfect from the free throw line to prevent an HPU comeback.
• Junior Andre Fox scored a game-high 20 points at Pitt and has 20 or more points in four of six games this season. He scored career highs in back-to-back games, tallying 24 against The Citadel before dropping 25 on Methodist. The 2016-17 Panthers had players score 20 or more 14 times, while this year has already seen six occasions (Fox 4x, Kamga and Proctor once each).
• Fox is currently third in the Big South wth 19.0 points per game, second in field goal percentage at 50.0 percent and leads the conference with a 93.3 free throw percentage.
• Sophomore Brandonn Kamga recorded a career-high at Charlotte with 26 points on 11-16 shooting from the field. He has tallied double-figure scoring in five of six games this year since sitting out the 2016-17 season due to NCAA transfer guidelines.
• Freshman Denny Slay had a breakout game against Pitt, scoring 12 points with a pair of rebounds, assists and steals without a turnover. Slay has started five of six games this season at point guard.
• Fellow freshman Justyn Mutts has started the last three games and has produced great efforts at both ends of the floor. His four blocks against The Citadel and his five steals at Pitt both are tied for the most in the Big South this season. He is second in the conference in blocks (1.8 per game) and is tied for seventh in steals (1.8 per game).
• To go along with outstanding defense, Mutts has scored in double figures three out of the last four games, including matching his season-high of 13 at Pitt.

HISTORY vs. JOHNSON & WALES
This will be the second meeting between the programs, with the Panthers coming out on top in the first meeting, 99-36, on Dec. 2, 2012 in the Millis Center. High Point also hosted the Johnson & Wales squad from the North Miami campus on Dec. 8, 2007, a 75-65 Panther win.

A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS (2-3)
Johnson & Wales University Charlotte plays as part of the USCAA. There are four Johnson & Wales campuses across the country, with the others being located in Providence, R.I., North Miami, Fla., and Denver. The Wildcats come to High Point on a three-game losing streak after falling to Voorhees, 97-90, on Wednesday night (Nov. 29). Robert Hobson leads the Wildcats with 15.6 points per game, while Majerle Poole is almost averaging a double-double with 12.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest.

NEXT UP
The Panthers will travel to Charleston, S.C., to take on College of Charleston on Monday night (Dec. 4). Tip-off at the TD Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.