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GREENSBORO -- A capacity crowd blew the roof off the Dudley gym last Saturday. In the process, the Panthers might have blown the roof off their expectations this season.

The Panthers scored one of the biggest wins in program history with an 86-78 win over Raleigh Word of God. That school entered the game ranked No. 8 in the nation by USA Today and boasts Rivals.com's top-rated player in the nation, point guard John Wall.

"It has to help us confidence-wise," Panthers head coach David Price said.

Memphis head coach John Calipari was among several scouts in the building to see P.J. Hairston lead all scorers with 28 points despite picking up his fourth foul midway through the second quarter. Hairston returned to hit a game-tying 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer, which erased what remained of an early Word of God lead.

"We tried to take that initial lick," Price said. "Sometimes it's hard to prepare for how fast other teams are."

It was still a tight game with about three minutes remaining when Price called timeout to regroup. From there, the Panthers squeezed Word of God into submission at the free throw line. Price tries to replicate those situations in practice with a drill called Heaven or Hell in which players have to run sprints if they can't make four of six free throws, "but for them to step in and step up like that, that's definitely on the kids."

"I don't think we have the kind of kids that would get a big head from it," Price said, "but the thing we've got to be careful about from here on in is taking everyone's best punch. People would have been shooting at us, but after a win like that, we've got to be ready night in and night out."

MISSED THAT BIG GAME? You've got another chance to see a nationally recognized team at 7 p.m. tonight, when Northern Guilford hosts Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, ranked No. 6 in USA Today's latest poll.

There are few things to look forward to about playing the Warriors, who have produced UNC point guard Ty Lawson among countless other pro prospects and defeated then-No. 2 Duncanville Texas last week. Here's one thing that helps Northern head coach Stan Kowalewski's scouting process: Almost all of Oak Hill's games can be found on the Internet.

"Every one of their kids is a high-major kid," Kowalewski said.

This is the start of a continuing home-and-home series with Oak Hill, a small Baptist school located in tiny Mouth of Wilson, Va. Kowalewski said he's been there once. "There are no stop lights, no restaurants, nothing commercial. Just farms, and then this school," he said. "It's a pretty unique situation."

The 3-0 Nighthawks have beaten defending 1-A state champion Winston-Salem Prep along with Smith and Northwest Guilford, but this will likely be their toughest matchup of the season.

"Let's just play our game and see how we stack up," Kowalewski said. "It's a good barometer to see where you're at. We're only going to get better because of it."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com