GREENSBORO, N.C. – Despite cutting the lead down to just two after trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, a late two-handed dunk by Bobby Pettiford fell home off the carom, sealing a 65-59 win for High Point in Greensboro on Saturday. App State (6-4) couldn't get the stop it needed late in the ballgame despite crawling back into it.
The Mountaineers led by as much as 15 points in the first half and held the Panthers (10-2) to just 20 percent shooting in the opening frame. Everything changed with the sides of the court as when halftime ended, High Point started to find its rhythm, making 16 of 31 shots and outscoring the Mountaineers by 15 in the final frame.
Myles Tate led all scorers in the game with 24, one off his career high, and helped lead App State's comeback attempt with 14 points in the second half. CJ Huntley joined Tate in double figures, scoring 12. He needs just 19 points to become App State's 37th member of the 1,000-point club.
Neither team shot the ball well from the field as both teams shot less than 40 percent. It was truly a defensive struggle on either side as the two teams combined for just 11 3-pointers on 43 attempts. Additionally, the Panthers scored just four points over the first 13 minutes of play.
How it Happened
For the second consecutive year in Greensboro, App State opened the scoring in Saturday's contest as Tate snuck his way to the basket for the layup. Huntley got his night started with a basket in the paint to extend the Mountaineer lead to 4-0 before High Point got on the board with 17:03 left.
A Jackson Threadgill three from the left wing shot the Mountaineer advantage up to five by the first media timeout. Then, it was a pair of free throws by Huntley that extended App State's advantage to seven before High Point scored again.
The Panther basket by Abdoulaye Thiam was the last points High Point scored until the 6:17 mark of the first half. App State's defense turned up the intensity over the next six minutes, forcing 10 consecutive missed shots. Because of this, the Mountaineers grew their lead to 15 by the 7:08 mark in the opening frame.
Threadgill and Alonzo Dodd gave the Mountaineers their first double-digit lead by the under-12 timeout, each getting to the paint for scores. Out of the timeout, Dior Conners sunk a three from the right wing to put the Mountaineers up 12 with 9:41 left to play. Capping off the long run, Huntley drilled a three from the corner to put App State up 15 by the under-eight break.
App State's extended 15-2 run finally came to a close with a Kimani Hamilton layup at the 5:27 mark. Answering right back, Tate squeezed his way to the basket and put home a bucket to put App State up 15 yet again.
Thiam made the Panthers' first three of the game with just under five minutes to go, but a quartet of Tate freebies kept App State ahead by double digits as the first half wound down. Then, the Panthers started finding their shot as they scored 17 of the game's next 23 points to close the gap to just nine with a minute left.
A late Conners basket gave App State its first-half total of 29 points, but a slight scoring drought allowed High Point to close the gap down to single digits as the first half ended.
The Mountaineer defense held High Point to just six made field goals in the first half and just a 20 percent mark from the field. Despite that, App State shot just 32 percent from the field and made three 3-pointers. App State's defense did well to keep High Point's top two scorers, Kezza Giffa and D'Maurian Williams, down in the opening half as the two combined for zero points.
Using the momentum they gained at the end of the first half, the Panthers scored each of the first seven points in the second half to close their deficit to just two with 17:52 to play. A Michael Marcus Jr. free throw finally ended the run, but High Point made it a one-point game by the first media timeout of the final half.
After the timeout, Terry Anderson hit a three from the corner to give High Point its first lead of the game at 32-30. Anderson gave his team a four-point lead by the 13:59 mark, but his five straight points were answered by Tate's driving layup to calm things down for the Mountaineers.
Forcing a turnover in the Mountaineer backcourt, Giffa raced down to the other end and scored with his left hand to give the Panthers their largest lead to that point at six. Needing a spark, Tate drove the paint and threw up a wild shot, but Luke Wilson was there for the putback to make it a four-point contest by the under-12 timeout.
A beautiful out-of-bounds play resulted in a Tate 3-pointer from the corner and closed App State's deficit back to one point by the 11:45 mark. But the Panthers accounted for eight of the game's next 10 points to build a nine-point advantage with 10 minutes to go.
High Point's lead swelled to 11 points, its largest lead, with 7:09 to play as Giffa continued to have an impactful second half. Starting to chip away, Tate scored four straight points to cut the Mountaineer deficit back to six with five minutes to go, but a Simon Hildebrandt three from the top of the key pushed the Panthers back ahead by nine as time slowly crept away.
Following the final media stoppage, Huntley found himself free in the corner and buried a three to bring the Panther lead to six. Jason Clarke Jr. pulled App State back within four with a pair of free throws at the 2:31 mark and then two more freebies from Threadgill made it a two-point game with 2:12 to go.
Williams got into the lane for a bucket to put High Point back up four, but Tate's four straight points brought fans to the edge of their seats with 38 seconds to play as he made it a two-point game in crunch time.
App State called a timeout to set its defense, and the Panthers turned to Pettiford at the top of the key to score. With Clarke Jr. on his hip, Pettiford crossed into the lane and found the basket with a dunk to seal the High Point win. Williams made two free throws to close it, but Pettiford's basket delivered the dagger in Greensboro on Saturday as the Panthers won 65-59.
Top Performers
Tate's 24 points paced all scorers in Greensboro. He was everywhere on the floor in his 36 minutes as he also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and racked up three steals. Huntley pulled even closer to the 1,000-point threshold, scoring 12 points. He needs just 19 more to reach 1,000. In 37 minutes, Threadgill tallied seven points while also pulling in a season-high six rebounds.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will open Sun Belt Conference play in Louisiana, where they will square off with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Wednesday. It will be the Mountaineers' first trip to the Cajundome in the Kerns era. Tipoff from Lafayette, La., is set for 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
