GREENSBORO — High Point University could’ve packed it in when things weren’t going its way. Instead it rallied and came away with a big win.
The Panthers trailed by 15 in the first half but went on to lead by 11 in the second. They held on down the stretch to win a gritty nonconference men’s basketball game 65-59 against Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon in the Novant Health Fieldhouse at the Greensboro Coliseum.
“We adjusted at halftime. I thought we were a little better offensively,” High Point coach Alan Huss said. “We were grimy defensively. We were physical, did a good job on their mismatches and fought really hard.”
Kezza Giffa, Simon Hildebrandt and Abdoulaye Thiam each scored nine points to lead the Panthers (10-2), who shot 52% from the field in the second half after shooting 20% in the first for a 36% average for the game.
D’Maurian Williams, Bobby Pettiford and Terry Anderson each added eight points as High Point picked up the offensive production in a strong second half to go along solid a solid defensive performance throughout.
“I thought Terry was the key tonight — he really got us going. Kimani got in a little foul trouble. Terry needed to see a couple balls go through the rim. And he got to see that tonight and gain a little bit of confidence. That was good,” Huss said.
“We just laid it out,” said Anderson, a senior forward in his first season after transferring from Lamar. “We were playing for each other and really together.”
The Panthers trailed by 15 with seven minutes left in the first half — making just two of their first 20 shots. The Mountaineers (6-4), led by Myles Tate with 24 points, steadily built a double-digit lead and led 29-20 at halftime.
High Point, which caught a spark with scores on eight of its final 10 possessions of the half, got much better looks in the second half. After scoring just four points in the paint in the first, it finished with 30 for the game.
“There’s a saying: Sometimes the best defense against a shooter is to not guard him,” Huss said. “I think you saw that at play tonight. So, we needed to settle in and try to still touch the paint, not let them make us go around the horn.
“That’s what we did in the first half. I thought we did a better job trying to fracture their shell and get into the paint better in the second half.”
The Panthers opened the half with an 18-3 run to lead by six with 12 1/2 minutes left. They extended their cushion to 11 with seven minutes left in the game. But Appalachian got within reach during the last few minutes.
The Mountaineers pulled within two with 2:13 left and again with 1:12 remaining. High Point answered — Pettiford scored on a layup with 47 seconds left and a dunk that hit the rim and dropped through with 12 seconds left.
Williams’ free throws with 13 seconds left sealed it.
“It was just mental — because we were shocked they were going under and not really guarding us,” Anderson said. “After we really settled down and locked in, we were just getting whatever we wanted.
“It was amazing, because this was a really gritty game. Our shots weren’t really falling, but at the end we converted when it mattered.”
The Panthers will return home Tuesday against Carolina University at 7 p.m. in the Qubein Center before heading to Southern Illinois on Saturday.
