Box Score High Point overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to claim a 71-69 come-from-behind victory over Birmingham-Southern Wednesday at Bill Battle Coliseum.
Narelle Henry led High Point (6-7, 1-0 Big South) with 20 points, including 13 in the second half. Mary Brewer added 14 and Misty Brockman chipped in 13.
Lindsay Boyett tied a season-best in leading BSC (7-7), with a game-high 27 points, including 7-of-9 from three-point range. Amy Woods and Jessica Patrick each added 11.
High Point erased a 58-49 deficit with 9:45 to play via a 17-4 run over the next six minutes. After Brewer tied the contest with a three-point play, High Point took its first lead of the game, 64-62, when Brockman hit a lay-up with 3:41 left.
The Panthers cut it to 69-67 on a Candace Byrd basket with 21 seconds and had a chance to tie after Brockman made one free throw, but Patrick missed a three-pointer with nine seconds to go. Brockman then made one of two free throws to seal the win.
High Point shot 47.5 percent in the contest, including 50 percent in the second period. HPU, however, struggled at the free throw line, making just 10-of-22. After blistering the nets at 53 percent in the first stanza, BSC went cold in the second, shooting just 22 percent for a game total of 35.8. BSC made all 11 free throw attempts, but turned it over 23 times, the most since committing 30 versus Lipscomb on Nov. 29.
BSC led 42-31 at halftime, thanks in part to red-hot shooting from behind the arc as the Panthers made 6-of-8 from long range. They finished the game making a season-high 10 three-pointers.
Since Birmingham-Southern is a provisional Division I member, the game will not count in the Big South Conference standings.
High Point hosts Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon. Game time in the Millis Center is 2:00 pm.
High Point (71) - O'Brien 3-6 2-4 8, S. Scott 2-4 0-2 4, Brewer 5-12 4-7 14, Henry 8-16 0-0 20, Brockman 5-9 3-7 13, C. Scott 5-9 3-7 0, Vick 4-8 0-0 9, Mills 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Rosser 1-2 1-2 3.
Birmingham-Southern (69) - Woods 3-11 3-3 11, Boyett 9-16 2-2 27, Patrick 3-6 4-4 11, Agee 2-6 0-0 4, Gentsch 0-4 2-2 2, Elliott 1-7 0-0 2, Walker 1-4 0-0 2, Lester 0-1 0-0 0, Byrd 3-5 0-0 6, Spears 2-6 0-0 4, Carter 0-1 0-0 0, Isbell 0-0 0-0 0.
High Point 31 40 71 Birmingham-Southern 42 27 69
3-Point Goals- High Point 5-10 (Henry 4-5, Vick 1-3, Brewer 0-2), Birmingham-Southern 10-19 (Boyett 7-9, Woods 2-5, Patrick 1-2, Elliott 0-1, Agee 0-2). Fouled out- None. Rebounds- High Point 38 (O'Brien 9), Birmingham-Southern 41 (Patrick 7). Assists- High Point 16 (O'Brien, Henry 5), Birmingham-Southern 18 (Agee, Gentsch 5).
