Site: Buies Creek, NC (Gore Arena)
Score: High Point 72, Campbell 77
Records: High Point (9-12, 3-4), Campbell (12-7) (5-3)
BUIES CREEK, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball lost a hard-fought battle 77-72 to Campbell on Saturday afternoon. Zack Austin led the way for HPU with a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds on the day, while Alex Holt finished with 18 points, shooting 8-9 from the field.
GG Smith: I want to congratulate Campbell, I thought they played extremely well. They are a very veteran and experienced team. They have guys who have been around a long time in this league and they are really tough to prepare for and guard. I thought defensively our guys were just not locked in for 40 minutes. We let them shoot 60% from the field for the game and that is not a recipe for success. We gave up way too many points in the paint, they made 24 layups in the game which is too many for any game. Overall I thought our guys played hard. We got down by 15 in the second half and fought back to cut it to three with less than two minutes to go. Then Campbell came up with a crucial offensive rebound that we gave up after a free throw and that was kind of what cost us the game in that final moment. I was excited to see Zack Austin shoot a pretty good percentage from the field and I was glad to see Alex Holt come off the bench and give us some quality minutes as well.
Panther Particulars
Holt hit back-to-back buckets to start the offense for the Panthers early in the first half.
Bryson Childress found his first field goal of the day with a tough step back.
Jaden House made it a one-possession game as he hit the first three-pointer for HPU.
HPU went on an 11-0 run sparked by a John-Michael Wright three-pointer to bring the Panthers within one.
Austin nailed his third three-pointer of the half, starting the game 3 for 4 from the three-point line.
HPU entered the halftime break down by nine with a score of 39-30. Zack Austin led the Panthers in the first half scoring nine points, going 3 for 4 from the three-point line.
The Panthers shot 46% from the three-point line in the first half.
Austin slammed it home for the first offensive play for HPU to open up the second half.
Holt hit three baskets in a row for the Panthers to bring the Panthers within ten.
The Panther pressure did not stop as Childress started a 10-0 run for HPU midway through the second half.
Holt struck again as he met the ball at the rim to keep his perfect day from the field going.
With 1:50 to go Wright nailed a three to bring the Panthers within three with the score of 72-69.
Campbell hit five free throws in the last two minutes to secure the victory 77-72.
The Panthers shot 53% from the field in the second half.
UP NEXT: HPU returns to the Qubein Center to host Gardner-Webb on Wednesday night (Feb. 2). Tipoff is set for 7 pm.