HIGH POINT, N.C. — The last time High Point won more than 20 basketball games was during the 2015-16 season when the Panthers posted a record of 21-11.

What You Need To Know

  • High Point has won 23 this season, passing a previous record set in the 2015-16 season

  • Guard Kezza Giffa, of France, has been a part of the Panthers' success, leading the team in assists and second in scoring

  • Led by first-year coach Alan Huss, High Point could earn its first Big South regular season title since 2015-16

This year, the team has not only eclipsed 20 victories, but with 23 wins so far, they've already passed that 21-win mark set eight years ago.

Led by first-year head coach Alan Huss, the Panthers have two games left in the regular season and could claim their first Big South regular season title since that 2015-16 season.

One reason for the success of this year's team has been the play of guard Kezza Giffa.

Originally from Paris, France, he is a junior who first came to America three years ago. Since then, he's played two years of college basketball and spent last season playing in junior college.

This year, Giffa leads the team in assists and is second on the team in scoring. He has also been named Big South player of the week four times.

On Jan. 27, in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Giffa hit a last-second shot to give the Panthers an 83-81 victory, capping off a 37 point performance.

"It's a play that I work on every day, so I just felt comfortable and I was just ready for the moment," said Giffa.

The guard has done all of this damage coming off the bench for most of the season.

"The most impressive thing about Kezza is his ability to accept a variety of roles," said Huss.

High Point will host this year's Big South tournament, and the team is preparing by focusing on finishing the regular season strong.

"We know we've got a couple of levels to go up still from an execution standpoint, from a toughness standpoint, to get us to the point where we can think about winning three games in three days," said Huss.

Giffa on the other hand is glad that he's in this position to compete for a regular season title, and says he is happy to be a Panther.

"Since I got here, I feel really welcome here. The people, the community, the coaching staff, my teammates, we really click really easy and we're having a good year so far. We're winning, so I'm happy to be here at High Point University," said Giffa.

The regular season wraps up on March 2 against Longwood, and the Big South tournament takes place March 6-10 at the Qubein Center on the High Point University campus.