Brown-led Panthers win consolation game

Friday, January 1, 1904

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

High Point University won the consolation game of the Dr Pepper Classic by edging Austin Peay 76-74 on Saturday in McKenzie Arena.

High Point freshman John Brown led all players with 25 points, including 9-of-12 free-throw shooting, and was named to the all-tournament team. Fellow forward Allan Chaney, who transferred from Virginia Tech after doctors refused to clear him due to a heart condition, added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.

The Governors (4-10) were led by 23 points from all-tournament selection Anthony Campbell, 14 from Will Triggs and 13 from Chris Horton.

"I think this was a great tournament for us because we wanted to get prepared for what our conference tournament will be like," High Point coach Scott Cherry said. "I feel good that we played the way we did today. Hopefully we can do that in March."

The Panthers (5-7) led 39-34 at halftime, but the Govs opened the second half with an 8-0 run. The teams traded the lead 13 times throughout the game, which was tied six times. The Panthers took a 60-59 lead with 5:51 to go and never let Austin Peay catch them again.

"We made defensive stops down the stretch," Cherry said. "We should have won by more; we should have won easily. But our guys closed the game like we're supposed to."