High Point Falls to Purdue in NCAA Tournament First Round, 75-63
By High Point Athletics
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After a historic season for the High Point University men's basketball team, the Panthers fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 4 seed Purdue, 75-63.
"Clearly we are disappointed." Head Coach Alan Huss stated. "We didn't come here to lose, we came here to compete and for stretches of the game we did just that. When you have a long layoff like we had, you make choices as a coach. We limited contact and probably didn't do a good enough job of emphasizing rebounding last week and that's on me. With that being said, 29 wins and making the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for High Point University is very special and I don't want to take that away from these guys and this great season by dwelling on one game where I didn't do a good enough job having them ready. I'm proud of this group. We've done exactly what we've talked about for a long time, becoming the first-ever. We certainly hope that we will be back soon."
Kezza Giffa kicked off the game with a corner three, igniting the High Point fan section of 200 students that made the trip up from North Carolina.
"They've been behind us all year," Williams stated. "We probably have the best mid-major fan base in the country, so we expected them to be here."
Purdue matched the Panthers first three with a three of its own before the Panthers connected on their next two possessions. Williams capitalized on a Boilermaker's turnover and splashed in a three-pointer to give HPU an 8-5 lead in the first three minutes.
High Point sunk another three in the corner from Terry Anderson to keep the Panthers ahead, 11-9 at the 15:02 mark in the first half.
The three-point line kept the Panthers in the game early. Trae Benham entered the game and immediately drained a three to put High Point ahead 14-13 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. Purdue took back a one-point lead and were able to extend its lead to four following a possession with three offensive rebounds.
The Panthers stayed close and brought it back to a one-point game with Abdoulaye Thiam's three free throws at the line after getting fouled on a three-point attempt. One minute later, Thiam drained a three to tie the game at 20 all with 9:28 to go in the first half.
High Point kept it a one possession game until the last six minutes of the first half. Purdue made a run and took its largest lead of the game, going up by 10 before the end of the half. The Panthers trailed 37-27 at the break after the Boilermakers tipped in a shot at the buzzer.
In the first 10 seconds of the second half, the Panthers threw down an alley-oop off a pass from D'Maurian Williams to Juslin Bodo Bodo. In the next possession, Bodo Bodo secured an offensive board and powered up with a strong put back to put the game under double digits, 39-31.
Chase Johnston picked up a steal to give High Point the possession back and answered with a three-pointer from the wing. HPU trailed 39-35 after the first minute and a half of the second half.
High Point kept the momentum as Benham drained a three with 16 minutes to go and closed the gap to four, 43-39. The Huss Bus fans were on their feet following the viral 'Mean Muggin' Trae's' three-pointer.
The Panthers kept the game under 10-points before closing the gap to three with seven minutes to go in the game. The 7-0 run started with another Benham three followed by a Bobby Pettiford free throw and a slam dunk from Bodo Bodo.
Purdue answered and went on a run of their own to push its lead back up to 10 during a three-minute stretch to make it 66-56 with four and a half minutes to go.
"We kept the same approach in everything we do," Williams stated, "and we were very confident going into the game. Even in the last four minutes were very confident, we just missed on a couple pieces."
In the final minutes of the game, High Point was unable to connect on shots to make a comeback. In the end the Panthers fell 75-63.
"High Point's a family and you can sense it when you come onto campus," Benham said. "The place is incredible, and we love going to school there. We have so many people that are very passionate about High Point basketball and it's a joy to be a part of something like that. Whenever you have so much momentum and love behind something that you do it gets you emotional. I'm grateful for my time at High Point and I'm grateful for the fans, props to the Huss Bus."
Williams led the game with 12 points, going 5-for-9 from the field while Benham went 3-for-6 from three-point range for 11 points. Bodo Bodo led on the rebounds with six.
This concludes the 2024-25 season for the High Point Panthers, finishing with an overall record of 29-6 and a Big South record of 14-2. The Panthers made history after being crowned both the Big South Regular Season Champions and the Big South Tournament Champions to make the NCAA Tournament for the first-time in program history.