For the third consecutive game, High Point's men's basketball team surrendered a lead in the final five minutes.

Thursday night, it was Charleston Southern which mounted a successful comeback, which led to a 60-55 Buccaneers victory at the CSU Fieldhouse.

High Point shot 54 percent in the first half and took a 33-29 advantage to intermission. The Panthers led by as many as nine points in the second frame before the Bucs began to chip away. CSU's James Seegars, who celebrated his 21st birthday Thursday night, nailed a three with 5:14 to play to pull the Bucs within 50-49.

Seegars then hit a jumper from the right wing to give the Bucs a 51-50 lead with 4:21 to play. Though High Point tied the game twice in the final three minutes, the Panthers never led again. 

With 13 seconds left and trailing 58-55, the Panthers had a chance to tie the game but threw the ball away without taking a shot, and Charleston Southern's Ed O'Neil nailed a pair of free throws to put the game on ice.

Jay Wallace led the Panthers with a career-high 18 points off the bench, while Dustin Van Weerdhuizen added 17 points.

High Point committed 20 turnovers.

The Panthers remain on the beach this weekend. High Point (8-15, 4-6) travels up the coast to Conway, S.C., to face Coastal Carolina on Saturday at 5:00 pm.

High Point (55) - Van Weerdhuizen 7-15 1-2 17, Barrow 1-4 0-2 2, Stonehocker 0-1 0-0 0, Knight 3-9 0-0 6, Alves 1-3 0-0 3, Ignatavicius 1-3 0-0 2, Halsch 3-4 1-1 7, Wallace 9-14 0-1 18.

Charleston Southern (60) - Seegars 5-12 0-0 12, 1-8 7-11 9, C. Warzynski 2-4 2-2 6, O'Neil 3-9 2-2 10, Granger 3-6 0-0 7, Drafts 2-3 0-0 4, Mandic 0-0 0-0 0, Pejovic 3-3 0-0 6, K. Warzynski 1-8 4-6 6.

High Point                                33  22  55 Charleston Southern             29  31  60

3-Point Goals- High Point 3-11 (Van Weerdhuizen 2-6, Alves 1-2, Knight 0-2, Wallace 0-1), Charleston Southern 5-18 (Seegars 2-6, O'Neil 2-8, Granger 1-3, Drafts 0-1). Fouled out- None. Rebounds- High Point 35 (Wallace 8), Charleston Southern 31 (Seegars, White 8). Assists- High Point 10 (Van Weerdhuizen 4), Charleston Southern 14 (Seegars6).