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On the radio: Country Legends 98.3 FM and
highpointpanthers.com with Jason Benetti and Stafford Stephenson
Live Video: Live streaming video on the Big South Network with Matt Perry and TBA
The Game: High Point University hosts South Carolina State tonight in the Panthers’ last non-conference matchup before beginning league play later this week. HPU is 2-2 after a 75-54 loss to Auburn last Wednesday at Auburn’s Beard-Eaves Coliseum. The Bulldogs stand at 3-0 entering Monday’s game with wins over Erskine, Allen and Southern Wesleyan. HPU begins conference play this week on the road at Presbyterian on Thursday and at Winthrop on Saturday. The Panthers went 4-14 in the Big South last year, finishing tied for ninth. They were picked by coaches and media to finish sixth in the Big South Preseason Poll. Presbyterian went 12-17 overall and 9-9 in the Big South last season and Winthrop went 11-19 and 9-9 in the Big South.
The Series: High Point meets South Carolina State for the first time ever on Monday. The only member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference HPU has ever faced is North Carolina A&T. HPU is 1-3 all-time against the Aggies, with their most recent meeting a 77-68 NCA&T win on Nov. 30, 2004.
The Opponent: The Panthers will try to get back on the winning track against a South Carolina State team that already has three wins. SC State beat Div. II Erskine 56-53 to open the season before topping a pair of NAIA opponents: SC State beat Allen 88-81 and topped Southern Wesleyan 75-69. The Bulldogs have employed nine different starters, including junior guard Darnell Porter and freshman guard Khalif Toombs, who have started all three games. Porter leads the team in scoring, with 14.3 points per game and Toombs has averaged 9.7. The team’s leading rebounder is sophomore forward Rio Pitt (8.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg). SC State is coming off a 17-14 (10-6 MEAC) season. The team lost three of its top four scorers from last season, returning only No. 2 scorer Jason Flagler, who averaged 12.8 points last season and is averaging 7.3 points in a team-high 32.0 minutes per game this season.
HPU Last Time Out: HPU started strong against Auburn, getting out to an early 13-12 lead before the Tigers closed the first half on a 37-5 run en route to a 75-54 win over High Point University on Wednesday in Auburn, Ala. The Panthers shot just 22 percent from the field in the first half while Auburn shot 52 percent. High Point came out much better in the second half and actually outscored Auburn by a point, but could never make significant ground on the Tigers’ lead.
Nick Barbour (Danville, Va./George Washington) led High Point in scoring for the fourth time this season with 14 points and
Corey Law (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) had nine points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Jairus Simms (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) had three assists and
Cruz Daniels (Clearwater, Fla./Clearwater) blocked four shots.
HPU Outscores Auburn In Second: High Point outscored Auburn, 36-35, in the second half of HPU’s 75-54 loss to the Tigers on Wednesday. It was the first time HPU ever outscored a Southeastern Conference team in a half of basketball. HPU has played nine games against SEC teams: three each against Florida and Kentucky, two against Auburn and one against Vanderbilt.
Barbour Leads Scoring Again: Sophomore Nick Barbour has led HPU in scoring in all four games plus the exhibition game this season. He scored 38 points in the season opener against UNC Pembroke, 15 against Wake Forest, 23 against Hampden-Sydney and 14 against Auburn. Barbour was a Preseason All-Big South selection after leading HPU with 14.2 points per game as a freshman last year.
Seven Scorers: Just seven players scored for HPU against Auburn, the fewest since only seven scored in a 69-64 loss to Radford on Feb. 25, 2009. The last time fewer than seven players scored for HPU was six in a 71-63 loss to Presbyterian on Jan. 31, 2009.
HPU Tops Hampden-Sydney: High Point University scored in triple digits for the second time this season, beating Hampden-Sydney 100-74 on Nov. 21 at the Millis Center. Hampden-Sydney played a strong first half and was within five points with less than four minutes to go before HPU pulled away. The Panthers led 45-37 at halftime and outscored Hampden-Sydney 55-37 in the second half en route to a 26-point win. Sophomore Nick Barbour scored 23 points to lead HPU in scoring for the third time this season and Eugene Harris scored a season-high 19. David Singleton shot five-for-five from the floor, scoring 10 points and he had a career-high six steals. Junior transfer Tehran Cox had a season-high seven assists. It was the season opener for the Tigers, who were led in scoring by Turner King’s 21 points.
Singleton Steals Career High: Sophomore David Singleton had a career-high six steals against Hampden-Sydney on Nov. 21. His previous best was five steals twice last season. He also shot five-for-five from the floor, scoring 10 points against the Tigers.
Cox’s Seven Assists: Junior transfer Tehran Cox had a season-high seven assists to lead HPU against Hampden-Sydney on Nov. 21.
HPU Falls to Wake: HPU put up a valiant effort in its only scheduled game against an ACC team, an 83-60 loss to Wake Forest at the Joel Coliseum on Nov. 18. The Panthers opened up a 24-15 lead early in the game, going five-for-eight from three-point range. Wake Forest took its first lead with 1:58 remaining in the first half and led 42-39 at the break. Wake Forest pulled away early in the second half, including an 18-0 run en route to the 23-point margin at the final buzzer. Wake Forest’s Al-Farouq Aminu led all scorers with 22 points and Chase McFarland was the game’s high rebounder, with 12. HPU was led for the second game in a row by Nick Barbour, who scored 15 points, and Eugene Harris scored 13 for the second game in a row. Cruz Daniels blocked five shots.
Simms Chipping In: Jairus Simms, the only true freshman on HPU’s roster, has gotten significant playing time in each game and led HPU in three of four games. Simms has 15 assists and eight turnovers through four games.
Daniels Gets 14th Five-Block Game: Senior Cruz Daniels blocked five shots against Wake Forest on Nov. 18, the first time this season and 14th time in his career he has blocked five or more shots. Daniels’ career-high was eight blocked shots against Youngstown State on Dec. 19, 2008 and he has also blocked six shots in a game on five occasions. He already owns High Point’s career blocks record, which now stands at 235. Daniels’ 235 blocks are No. 2 all-time in the Big South behind only Liberty’s Peter Aluma, who had 366 from 1994-97. Daniels set the HPU single-season record of 83 in 2008-09 to lead the Big South and his 2.8 per game ranked sixth in the NCAA.
Harris Gets 1,000 points: Senior Eugene Harris scored his 1,000th-career point on a jump shot just before halftime of HPU’s 104-72 win over UNC Pembroke on Nov. 14. Through four games he has 1,044. Harris is the 28th member of HPU’s 1,000-point club and currently ranks 24th on the all-time scoring list. As a freshman, Harris was named to the Big South All-Freshman team and, as a sophomore, he set the HPU record with 90 three-pointers.
Barbour Named Co-Player of the Week: Sophomore Nick Barbour was named Big South Co-Player of the Week along with Coastal Carolina’s Joseph Harris on Nov. 16. Barbour scored 38 points, including 10-for-11 from three-point range, in HPU’s 104-72 win over UNC Pembroke. He made his final nine three-point attempts. His 38 points were a career-high and the third time he has scored 30 or more points in his career.
•HPU Div. I Record: Barbour’s 10 three-pointers made and .909 three-point field goal percentage were both HPU records in the Div. I era (1999-2000 to the present). His 38 points ranked third in the Div. I era behind Arizona Reid (42 at VMI on March 1, 2008) and Joe Knight (40 at Vanderbilt on Dec. 15, 2002).
•Big South Record: Barbour’s .909 three-point percentage is the highest in a single-game in Big South history.
•Best 3-Pt% in Div. I Since 2007-08: Barbour’s 10-for-11 mark was the best performance from three-point range in all of NCAA Div. I since Jan. 18, 2008, when Andre Smith of George Mason went 10 for-10 against James Madison. Last year, nobody shot 90 percent or better when attempting 10 or more three-pointers.
Season-Opening Win: HPU opened the season with a win for the first time since 2004-05 when it beat UNC Pembroke, 104-72, on Nov. 14 at the Millis Center. Nick Barbour made nine straight three-pointers to finish the game, including all six of his attempts in the second half, and he finished with a career-high 38 points. Eugene Harris scored his 1,000th-career point en route to a 13-point day and Corey Law finished with 11. Senior Cruz Daniels led HPU with seven rebounds and true freshman Jairus Simms had five assists to one turnover.
Exhibition Win: High Point hosted Johnson & Wales-Charlotte Campus in an exhibition game at the Millis Center on Nov. 10, serving up a 93-25 victory before 1,187 fans. Sophomore Nick Barbour had 17 points to lead six players in double digits, and redshirt freshman Corey Law recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. It was Johnson & Wales’ first men’s basketball game at the varsity level.
Class Breakdown: HPU’s roster features two seniors, four juniors (including transfer Tehran Cox), four sophomores, two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman. Eight of the Panthers’ 13 players have significant collegiate playing experience.
HPU Sixth in Preseason Poll: High Point University was ranked sixth in the Big South Preseason Poll. The Panthers were ranked behind (1) Radford, (2) UNC Asheville, (3) Winthrop, (4) Gardner-Webb and (5) VMI. HPU was ranked ahead of (7) Liberty, (8) Coastal Carolina, (9) Charleston Southern and (10) Presbyterian. HPU went 9-21 overall and 4-14 in conference play last season and finished tied for ninth in the Big South regular-season standings.
Barbour Preseason All-Big South: Nick Barbour was named to the Big South Preseason All-Conference team. As a true freshman in 2008-09, Barbour led HPU with 14.2 points per game and was named to the Big South All-Freshman team. He started the final 12 games of the season, averaging 21.4 points in those games.
Loaded Backcourt: Of the 13 players on HPU’s roster this season, eight are guards. This gives Coach Cherry many options in the backcourt, and HPU will most likely have three guards on the court for the majority of minutes. Senior Eugene Harris (95 games) and junior David Campbell (61 games) have the most experience in an HPU uniform, and junior transfer Tehran Cox played in 63 games at point guard in two years at Arkansas-Fort Smith. Sophomores Nick Barbour and David Singleton both got a lot of experience as true freshmen last season. Barbour led HPU with 14.2 points per game and was named to the Big South All-Freshman team. Singleton was the only player to start all 31 games and led the team and ranked fifth in the Big South with 4.8 assists per game. True freshman Jairus Simms, redshirt freshman Joe Stroman and sophomore walk-on Adam Hall are also guards who provide depth.
The Frontcourt: Senior center Cruz Daniels will be the Panthers’ key player down low this season and he will get help from junior forwards Earnest Bridges and Jourdan Morris as well as redshirt freshman forward Corey Law. At 6-foot-11, Daniels provides the most height and he has one of the greatest reaches in the NCAA. He led the Big South in blocks each of the last two seasons, and his 2.8 per game ranked sixth in the NCAA last season. He also averaged 7.7 points and 8.1 rebounds as a junior. Bridges has averaged 11.8 minutes in 58 career games at HPU and at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds brings a physical presence to the court. He averaged 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds last year. The 2008-09 season was Morris’s first in an HPU uniform and he averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 24 games. He played the 2006-07 season at St. Bonaventure, where he played in 23 games. He then sat out the 2007-08 season to meet NCAA transfer requirements. Cherry inserted Law right into the starting lineup in the exhibition game and the first four regular-season games and he has averaged 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in the first four games. Law brings great athleticism after starring at Deep Creek High in Chesapeake, Va. Another forward – 6-foot-6 Moses Burgess of Greenville, S.C. – was recently added to the roster.
Carolina Connection: Both head coach Scott Cherry and assistant coach Wes Miller played for North Carolina and won national championships with the Tar Heels. Cherry played at UNC from 1989-93 and was captain of the 1993 NCAA champ team. Miller played for current head coach Roy Williams from 2004-07 and was a member of the 2005 NCAA title team. Miller was captain of the 2006-07 Tar Heels, leading the team to 31 wins, the Elite 8 and ACC title.
Milestone Watch: Several HPU players have worked their ways into the HPU record book. On Nov. 14 senior Eugene Harris became the 28th member of HPU’s 1,000-point club. Both Harris and senior Cruz Daniels have played 95 games and should work their way into the top 10 in career games played. Bruce Floyd (1978-82) ranks 10th with 106 games played and Landon Quick (2003-07) is the leader with 122. Daniels is already HPU’s career leader with 235 blocks after the Auburn game, and Harris is the all-time leader in three-pointers, with 220. Nick Barbour made 65 three-pointers as a true freshman last year, and with his 19 through three games this season, he ranks ninth with 84 career three-pointers. Barbour’s 10 three pointers and .909 three-point percentage against UNC Pembroke on Nov. 14 were both High Point records in the Div. I era. Sophomore David Singleton already has 150 assists and is just 48 from Derek Van Weerdhuizen (198), who ranks 10th in HPU history.