HPU Men’s Basketball Shoots Its Way To 88-71 Win Over William Peace

• The Panthers shot a blistering 80.1 percent (17-21) from the field in the second half and posted a 67.9 percent mark (36-53) overall
• The overall clip of 67.9 percent marked the second-highest field goal percentage in the program’s Division I history
• Redshirt-junior John Brown led HPU with 16 points (8-9 FG) and chipped in a team-high four assists in 22 minutes of work

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s basketball team shot a sizzling 80.1 percent (17-21) from the field in the second half en route to an 88-71 win over visiting William Peace on Tuesday night inside the Millis Center.

High Point shot 67.9 percent (36-53) overall in the game, including a 79.5 percent mark (35-44) on 2-point field goals. The overall clip of 67.9 percent marked the second-highest field goal percentage in the program’s Division I history. The high-water mark of 68.4 percent (54-79) was set vs. Florida Christian on Jan. 8, 2008, inside the Millis Center.

The Panthers jumped out to an early lead and held a 49-32 advantage at the break. William Peace took a whopping 41 3-point field goals of out 65 total attempts in the game and connected on 15 (.366) to stay within 20 points of the lead for much of the contest.

The Panthers dominated nearly every statistical category, including a +54 (70-16) advantage in points in the paint. HPU also led in rebounds (36-27), bench scoring (42-22) and overall field goal percentage (.679-.400).

The Panthers distributed 24 assists on 36 field goals in the game. The 24 assists by HPU were the most by a Panther team since a 24-assist effort vs. VMI on Jan. 23, 2013.

“I’m just happy with the win. These games are tough because teams like William Peace have nothing to lose,” head coach Scott Cherry said. “We played well and put forth a good effort for a majority of the game. Our guards did a great job of driving to the basket and our bigs did a nice job of posting up and getting the ball close to the rim.”

Redshirt-junior forward John Brown led the Panthers with 16 points (8-9 FG) and distributed a team-high four assists in an efficient 22 minutes of work. Junior forward Lorenzo Cugini (5-8 FG) added 13 points and four rebounds, while sophomore forward Tarique Thompson chipped in 13 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting.

Freshman guard Austin White notched a career-best eight points and three assists, while junior point guard Haiishen McIntyre added eight points and made 3-of-4 field goals. Freshman forward K.J. James also tallied six points (3-3 FG) and added two assists and two rebounds.

HPU scored 12 of the first 17 points of the game and led 18-8 after a steal from sophomore Anthony Lindauer led to a fast-break lay-in from McIntyre. From there, HPU used an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 16 (26-10). The Panthers then moved ahead by 22 (40-18) on a lay-in from redshirt-senior Brian Richardson at the 5:54 mark of the half. HPU entered the break ahead, 49-32.

The Pacers pulled within 14 (51-37) at the 18:11 mark of the second half, but HPU used a 6-0 run to build the lead back to 20 (57-37) after a McIntyre lay-up. The Panthers took their largest lead of the game at 24 on a lay-in from Thompson with 8:16 to go. The Pacers could not move closer than 16 (85-69) for the remainder of the game.

The Panthers’ 88 points were the most by an HPU team in a regulation game since the Panthers dropped 94 in a game vs. Ferrum on Nov. 12, 2013. High Point notched a season-high 100 points in the 4OT win vs. Bakersfield to open the season on Nov. 14.

HPU now hits the road for a post-Thanksgiving battle with ACC foe Clemson (3-2) on Friday night at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Streaming audio featuring “Voice of the Panthers” Evan Lepler also will be available via highpointpanthers.com.