High Point teams hit high hoops success

Kimani Hamilton is one of three High Point men’s players averaging more than 15 points per game. (Courtesy photo)

HIGH POINT – It has been shaping up as a special season for High Point University basketball – times two.

Both the men’s teams and women’s teams won regular-season titles in the Big South Conference and are top-seeded teams for the conference tournaments.

The men’s and women’s tournaments are being held at High Point’s Qubein Center from March 6-10, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at stake.

This is the first time the combined tournaments will be held at High Point, which was the site of women’s tournaments from 2009-12 and in 2021 at Millis Center.

The site for the 2024 tournaments was announced in August. This marks the third season in a row that the men’s and women’s tournaments will be held on the same dates at the same site, though they were at a neutral site in Charlotte the past two years.

The High Point men have never been to the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball. The women’s team qualified for NCAAs in 2021.

On the men’s side, the Panthers clinched at least a share of the title with two regular-season games remaining, ending with a 13-3 Big South mark.

Going into the league tournament, High Point holds a 24-7 overall record under first-year coach Alan Huss. The team posted its best regular-season finish in eight years.

For the High Point women (19-10, 14-2), they entered the postseason with a 10-game winning streak.

The tournament championship games are Sunday.