High Point University Clinches Big South Conference Regular Season Championship

For the first time since the 2015-16 season under Head Coach Scott Cherry, the High Point University men’s basketball team clinched the Big South conference regular season championship on senior night, Wednesday, as HPU defeated Winthrop, in an overtime thriller, 100-96. 

 

Before tip-off, HPU celebrated two of its seniors and their families, Bryson Childress and AJ Hoynack. Childress has played 95 career games over his four-year career as a Panther, totaling 332 career points and 80 rebounds. Hoynack, the initial walk-on, has played 11 career games over his three-year playing career as a Panther. 

 

HPU got into foul trouble early as the team’s leading scorer Duke Miles and Juslin Bodo Bodo each picked up two fouls and were substituted out within the game’s first three minutes of action.

 

With two of the Panther’s starters out with foul trouble for a large chunk of the first half, HPU had to find production from its role players. 

 

Sophomore guard Abdoulaye Thiam and sophomore Kimani Hamilton both filled in that void as they each nailed two three-pointers and recorded eight points in the first half to help HPU lead at halftime, 41-34. 

 

The Panthers came out the gates hot in the second half as they got off to an 11-2 scoring run which included Thiam knocking down two more three-pointers and Trae Benham draining a three-pointer of his own for the team’s combined 11th three-pointer of the game to that point. 

 

Another Thiam made three-pointer, his fifth of the game, pushed HPU’s lead to its largest of the night, 19 points, 55-36 with 16:55 remaining in the second half. 

 

However, Winthrop came storming back and eventually went on a scoring run themselves as they outscored the Panthers 10-2 in the remaining 1:01 of the second half to tie the game up at 86 and force an overtime period.

 

A slow start from the Panthers allowed Winthrop to gain a 94-91 advantage with 2:02 to play in overtime. 

 

A missed three-point attempt by Winthrop allowed Miles to grab the rebound and push the ball ahead to Benham, who would be fouled on a three-point jumper. 

 

After Benham drained all three crucial free-throw attempts, HPU tied the game up at 94 with 1:11 to play. 

 

With 18 seconds remaining and all tied up at 96, Duke Miles made the most critical play of the game as he forced a turnover on a Winthrop inbounds play, allowing him to draw a foul and knock down two monumental free-throws that put HPU back up by two points, 98-96.

 

“The difference was Duke made a couple of winning plays down the stretch when we really needed him and that has been what Duke has done all year… He has a real knack for making difficult plays when it matters,” said head coach Alan Huss.

 

The Panthers went an excellent 10-11 from the free-throw line in the overtime period which helped HPU seal the win over Winthrop, 100-96. 

 

HPU shot an impressive 32-36 from the free-throw line in the game, and 14-29 from the three-point line.

 

Despite 36 personal fouls from the Panthers that resulted in 50 free-throw attempts from Winthrop, HPU was able to come out on top as Thiam led the way with a team-high 25 points on 5-12 shooting from the three-point line and 6-6 from the free-throw line.

 

Hamilton added 19 points on 8-12 shooting from the court overall and 3-4 from the three-point line to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. And despite only playing 1:35 of game time in the first half due to two early foul calls, Miles finished with 14 points in the second half and 17 overall to go along with five assists and three rebounds.

 

With the win, first year head coach Alan Huss and the Panthers move to 24-6 overall and 13-2 in Big South conference play which marks the most ever wins in HPU men’s basketball program history and the most wins by a first-year head coach.

 

“We obviously are very fortunate to get out with a win tonight. Our three-point shooting early in the game, especially in the first half, really covered up a lot of mistakes. We turned the basketball over entirely too much tonight and especially in some critical moments against pressure late. We made some really uncharacteristic plays for us as far as ball security went… I am just really proud of our guys. Proud of their effort all year and proud of them tonight,” said Huss.

 

For senior guard Childress, who has been with the program for four years under three different head coaches, he ended his final home game off on an exclamation point, “the last four years for me have been so many highs and lows so to end on a note like that just shows that if you keep doing the right thing, keeping putting your head down and working every day then things work out in the end,” said Childress.

 

“It is surreal, that moment, just looking at the crowd and holding the trophy. I never thought in the four years that I have been here, it is crazy,” senior guard Hoynack said. 

 

The Panthers have one remaining game as they travel to Farmville, Va. to take on Longwood University on Saturday, March 2 at 4:30 p.m.

 

“We will try to get ourselves rebounded off a really tough, tough emotional win. Anytime you hold a trophy and then you have to go back and play again in a regular season game, it is a challenge. So we are going to find out what we are made of and how tough we can be on Saturday afternoon. I am looking forward to the challenge and I know our group is,” said Huss.