Hill, Longwood beat High Point in 1st game without Tubby

Feb 18, 2022, 05:12 am

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- — Justin Hill had his first career double-double, Isaiah Wilkins scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Longwood beat High Point 78-71 on Thursday night.

Zack Austin hit a 3-pointer to give High Point a 57-56 lead midway through the second half, but the Lancers scored 14 of the next 15 points to take the lead for good. The Panthers missed six in row from the field, including four 3-point shots, and committed four turnovers during that stretch.

Hill finished with 18 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Wilkins made 4 of 5 from 3-point range. D’Avian Houston scored 14 points and DeShaun Wade added 12 on 5-of-6 shooting for Longwood (20-6, 12-1 Big South).

The Panthers (11-16, 5-8) played their first game without coach Tubby Smith, who resigned Wednesday. The High Point alum, in his fourth season with the program, decided to step away after contracting COVID-19 twice in the last year. His son G.G. Smith, who was the coach at Loyola (Md) for five seasons, has taken the reins at High Point after serving as associate head coach since May of 2017.

Tubby Smith led Kentucky to the 1998 national championship and is one of just three coaches (Lon Kruger and Rick Pitino) to lead five different programs to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The 2003 College Coach of the Year directed Tulsa, Georgia, the Wildcats, Minnesota and Texas Tech to the Big Dance before stops at Memphis and High Point.

Jaden House led the Panthers with 20 points and John-Michael Wright added 18.

Longwood beat the Panthers 70-66 in Farmville, Virginia, on Tuesday.

High Point hits the road to take on Radford on Saturday. Longwood returns home to play Saturday against Hampton.

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