March 8, 2024
A second-half surge from the No. 1 seeded High Point men’s basketball team allowed the Panthers to take down the No. 9 seeded Radford, 77-63, on Friday afternoon. Juslin Bodo Bodo dominated inside and around the glass as he recorded his fifth double-double of the season, 14 points and 19 rebounds to help advance HPU to the semifinals of the 2024 Hercules Tires Big South conference tournament.
HPU started the game off slow as they trailed 18-4 before the Panthers got momentum rolling their way after a Bodo two-handed jam and Kezza Giffa tough bucket at the rim.
Thiam grabbed HPU’s first lead of the game, 28-27, after a crafty and-one, three-point conversion inside as the Panthers continued their 20-7 run.
HPU struggled to shoot the ball from the perimeter, converting on just 1-of-12 three-point attempts as the Panthers trailed at halftime 36-34.
Giffa led the way in scoring for the Panthers with nine points heading into the second half.
“He [Giffa] gives us an unbelieve spark. It is not unique to this game necessarily though, he does it every game… I can not say enough about him and his maturity level and the way that he has bought into the team over himself at accepting his role,” said head coach Alan Huss.
The Panthers came out the gates in the second half hot as Thiam kicked off the half with a pair of three-pointers and Duke Miles converted a tough basket around the rim that forced Radford to call timeout within the first two minutes of the half, and allowed High Point to grab its largest lead of the game, six points, 42-36.
“I thought that run was critical. It just allowed us to exhale. We were a little tight in the first half. We took some uncharacteristic jump shots early in possessions without paint touches first… after that stretch we exhaled and then you saw how we play offensive basketball,” said Huss.
Bodo was a presence down low and above the rim the entire game as Giffa found a flying-high Bodo for an alley-oop to get High Point fans on their feet and the Qubein Center rocking, and then two possessions later Bodo threw down a putback two-handed dunk to advance High Point’s lead to double-digits, 50-40, with 15:33 remaining in the second half.
Miles splashed down a transition triple for his sixth bucket and 13th point of the game as HPU continued their scoring run of 19-4 since the start of the second half.
Titas Sargiunas added to the Panthers’ scoring prowess with two corner triples.
“We know that given the opportunity that he [Sargiunas] can certainly make plays, and make others better. I thought he made two big jump shots in that stretch as well,” said Huss.
Duke’s exceptional play continued as he recorded back-to-back baskets including a contested three-pointer to give him a game-high 18 points.
“We always focus on attacking down hill… I know when I can get my guys like Abdoulaye, Kezza or Kimani to get open shots… it starts opening up the paint and opening up the driving lanes,” said Miles.
After only making one three-pointer as a team in the first half, Thiam swished High Point’s seventh three-pointer of the second half.
Qubein Center erupted after Miles and Kimani Hamilton set up Bodo for back-to-back lobs to push High Point’s lead to 15 points, 77-62, with 2:56 left in the game.
“Having everybody supporting and being there for us and just having the atmosphere… it is like playing in March Madness… just to have it at home is a big advantage,” said Miles.
The second-half surge from the Panthers allowed them to seal the win, 77-63, and advance to the semifinals of the 2024 Hercules Tires Big South tournament semifinals.
HPU advances to 25-7 overall and 13-3 in Big South conference play.
“Clearly we were not quite ready at the start of the game. A lot of credit goes to Radford, they were all charged up. Conference tournament is just kind of a different feel. The team that comes off the bye obviously has an advantage in the long run but sometimes in the short term when the other team has played a game especially with a day off, it is a little bit of an advantage to them at least early in the game,” said Huss. “We settled in offensively. We cleaned up the glass a little bit. They have done a really nice job late in the season on the offensive glass and really since our last game with them… We stopped taking it out of the net, we got out and ran a few times. We loosened up and finally made a few baskets there in the second half.”
Miles and Thiam led the way in scoring for the Panthers with 20 points. Miles shot 9-18 from the court overall and 2-5 from the three-point line. Thiam shot 6-13 from the floor and 3-8 from beyond the arc.
Bodo was the star for HPU today as he dominated on the offensive and defensive glass, and earned himself his fifth double-double of the season as he finished with 14 points and 19 rebounds including 10 offensive rebounds.
“His [Bodo] impact on our program I do not really know if I can put it into words. He came and joined us after the summer time. We had a guy get ill for the year and another guy get injured. We were looking for someone late and he was looking for a home late… I give all the credit to him. He has worked unbelievably hard… Obviously he was the most impactful player in my opinion on the floor tonight. He controlled the defensive backboard. He controlled the offensive blackboard and I just thought he was the centerpiece of our defense,” said Huss.
High Point will host the No. 5 seeded Longwood University on Saturday, March 9 at 12 p.m. in the semifinals of the Hercules Tires Big South tournament.