WHEN: Tuesday, February 14, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Vines Center (9,547)
RECORDS: High Point (14-12, 8-6), Liberty (17-10, 12-2)
SERIES RECORD: Liberty leads 22-16
LAST MEETING: Liberty def. High Point, 62-58, on Jan. 11, 2017
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 hits the road for two games this week, starting with a Valentine’s Day affair against Liberty on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in Lynchburg, Va. The Panthers can match the program high of seven Big South road wins with a victory in Lynchburg.
Tip in the game is set for 7 p.m. Kevin Burke 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 one-point overtime loss to Radford on Saturday. High Point forced overtime with a jumper by sophomore Andre Fox with less than a second left in regulation. In overtime, the Purple & White trailed by four with just eight seconds left when Fox drilled a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to just one. The Panthers trapped the ensuing inbounds, forcing a turnover with four seconds remaining but Fox’s attempted game winner hit off the rim at the buzzer.
• Senior Anthony Lindauer led High Point with 17 points on 7-14 shooting. The senior sharpshooter went 3-5 from behind the arc, making it the fifth-straight game and 11th game overall in which he has hit at least three 3-pointers. Lindauer is third in the HPU all-time career record book for 3-point shooting percentage at .422 and is seventh in career 3-pointers with 160. He needs just four 3-pointers to pass Dustin Van Weerhuizen for sixth.
• After missing two seasons with knee injuries, redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr. has emerged as one of the top players in the Big South. He is ninth in the league in scoring at 13.8 points per game and is averaging 15.4 points per game in conference play. The redshirt-senior ranks among the nation’s leaders in free throw shooting and rebounding and he is tied for the Big South lead with 11 double-doubles in 25 games. He is one of just 36 players in the nation to record at least 11 double-doubles this season.
• Despite ranking as one of the shortest teams in 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. The Panthers won the rebounding battle in 11-straight games prior to facing Radford on Saturday and have allowed just 32.9 rebounds per game, tops in the conference. Bowman Jr. is ranked second in the Big South and 77th in the nation with 8.4 rebounds per game.
• HPU has excelled in free throw shooting on the road, going 176-225 (.782). Overall, High Point ranks third in the Big South and 82nd in the nation in free throw percentage at .730 (375-513). Redshirt-senior Miles Bowman Jr., leads the Big South and is 17th in the nation in free throw percentage at .902 (83-92).
• Wright currently sits second in the Big South in assists per game (3.8) in his first collegiate campaign. He has 100 assists while committing just 58 turnovers and is also second in the conference with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. The freshman needs 25 more assists to crack the top-10 single-season assist totals in HPU program history. The HPU freshman record for assists is 144 set by David Singleton in 2008-09.
HISTORY vs. LIBERTY
High Point has dropped its last three meetings with Liberty and is now 16-22 in 38 all-time meetings with the Flames. The Panthers lost by four, 62-58, in the two sides earlier meeting this season at the Millis Center on Jan. 11. The sophomore duo, Ricky Madison and Andre Fox both scored 12 points to pace the Panthers in the contest. Madison shot 5-9 from the floor and 4-4 from the line while also leading the team with nine rebounds on the night. In addition to his 12 points, Fox grabbed seven rebounds, one shy of his career high. HPU outrebounded the Flames, 37-22. The plus-15 rebound margin was High Point’s highest margin over a Div. I opponent this season. High Point led by three with two minutes to play when Ryan Kemrite hit back-to-back 3-pointers and the Flames went 6-6 from the line in the final minute to seal the win. High Point’s last win over Liberty was on Jan. 29, 2015 and the Panthers’ last win at the Vines Center game on Jan. 18, 2014.
HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS FROM VIRGINIA
High Point has complied a 77-72 (.517) record all-time against Div. I programs hailing from the Old Dominion State. HPU’s most common opponents are Radford (20-23, .465), Liberty (16-22, .421) and Longwood (21-7, .750). High Point is 57-52 (.523) against Big South programs from Virginia and 19-20 (.487) against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. HPU is 1-4 against teams from Virginia this season with losses to Virginia Tech, Longwood, Liberty and Radford and a win at Radford.
A LOOK AT THE FLAMES (17-10, 12-2 BIG SOUTH)
Liberty is tied for first in the Big South with a 12-2 mark in conference play and a 17-10 record overall. The Flames have won six-straight entering Tuesday’s contest, including a double-overtime win at Gardner-Webb on Thursday. Liberty’s defense is the best in the Big South, allowing a conference-best 63.4 points per game and holding opponents to just .427 shooting. LU has allowed 70 or more points just three times in conference play this season. Kemrite leads LU in scoring with 13.7 points per game. He is fourth in the Big South averaging 2.4 3-pointers per game and is shooting .438 from behind the arc. John Dawson leads the team with 2.6 assists per game and is averaging 9.9 points per game in conference play.
UP NEXT
High Point wraps up its road schedule at Charleston Southern on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 5:30 p.m. The Panthers earned an overtime win over CSU at the Millis Center earlier this season and will go for the season-sweep of the Buccaneers on Saturday.