"Next Man Mentality"
Those were the words Abdoulaye Thiam used in the post-game press conference to describe his approach to getting his first start of the season during Monday night's matchup in the Qubein Center.
Clearly it worked.
The Panthers, led by Thiam's 22 points and 9-of-10 shooting night, ousted the visiting American University Eagles 80-73 and improved to 5-0 for the first time in the program's Division 1 history. D'Maurian Williams continued his season-long hot hand adding 21 points and Kimani Hamilton contributed another solid 18-point effort for the Panthers as well.
But it was all Laye, all night for the Panthers, who spent most of the evening playing "point-guard-by-committee" due to the temporary absence of Big South Preseason Player of the Year, Kezza Giffa.
Thiam, who is perhaps best known for being a elite shooter, didn't even attempt a three-pointer on the night. Instead, he spent most of the evening utilizing the shot fake and his quickness to penetrate the Eagles defense before showing off his finishing ability hitting layup-after-layup and floater-after-floater. It wasn't a career high for the longest-tenured Panther, who added 4 of 5 from the charity stripe to his stat line as well, but it was an impressive display of offensive efficiency on a night when his team really needed it.
American, to their credit, put in a valiant effort shooting nearly 56% from the floor on 13 assists and outrebounding the Panther 26 to 22, including 12 offensive boards. Elijah Stephens scored 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting and he seemed impossible to keep away from the basket. Matt Rogers, the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, added 17 points, 6 boards and posed a problem, offensively and on the boards, for the Panthers all night.
The result was that the Eagles shot an effective FG rate of over 62%, the second highest allowed by the Panthers in the Alan Huss era, and Bart Torvik gave the Eagles a 125.1 offensive efficiency rating, their highest of the season and second highest ever under head coach Duane Simpkins.
The Eagles came into this game 1-3 overall and were clearly hungry for a win. Yes, they were nearly doubled up three nights earlier in Chapel Hill where they lost to North Carolina 107-55. But they gave the Tar Heels all they could handle trailing by only 12 with 15 minutes to go. After watching them in person last night I believe they are a much better team than their record, or even the metrics, would indicate. American jumped out to a six point lead six minutes into the High Point game and maintained the pressure on the Panthers throughout the second half keeping the margin between 4 and 8 for the majority of the last 15 minutes.
In addition to Laye's performance, the Panthers got a surprising boost from the efforts of freshmen Josh Ibukunoluwa and Braden Hausen. Hausen added six points to the effort, including an absolutely massive "and-1" finish at a time when the Eagles were clawing back in the second half. I gave Hausen a lot of love in the exhibition write-ups earlier this year and I expect that he'll continue to add valuable spot minutes for the Panthers when they need them. Ibukunoluwa gave good minutes on the defensive side as well and he looks more comfortable which each passing game.
Finally, I think the play of Kimani Hamilton deserves a shoutout in this one as well. Through five regulation games for the Panthers we've seen monster offensive performances from Chase, Kezza, D'Mar and even Laye; but Mani, who has himself scored in double digits every game, has been the glue guy in many of those performances. Monday night, in the absence of Giffa, he took on a share of the ball handling responsibilities and proceeded to log four assists and just one turnover to go with 18 points. On the season, he's nearly doubled his assist rate overall from a year ago, leading to a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. Like many guys on this team, he's selflessly finding his role on any given night and playing within it. It's something that both sophisticated observers and fans alike can appreciate about his game.
The Panthers, now 5-0, head off to the Cayman Islands for a three day, three game tournament. It sounds kind of funny to say, but the tournament, which starts next Sunday the 24th, might actually give the Panthers a day or two off, before and after, to regroup and rest after a dizzying start of the season that included 5 games in 13 days.
What we've learned through five games is that this team has the weapons and the mindset to accomplish the things they want to this season. Now, over the next month or so, the challenge is getting a full roster healthy and developing the right chemistry and rhythm to succeed in 2025. At some point Terry Anderson, Simon Hildebrandt and Bobby Pettiford will make their debuts into an already loaded Panther lineup and we'll get a full look at what this team can be. As Laye would tell you, "next man up!" I'm looking forward to it. Go Panthers!
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