Winthrop got 24 points from Marcus Cooke and shot 59 percent in the second half to defeat High Point, 78-67, Wednesday night in Big South men's basketball action in Rock Hill.

The Eagles (14-10, 8-5 Big South) salvaged a split of the season series with the Panthers (14-9, 7-5). WU got 42 points from its bench, led by Torrell Martin's 18 points and James Shuler's 12 points.

Jerry Echenique led HPU with 15 points off the bench, while Danny Gathings added 14 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season.

It was a defensive struggle in the early going, as both teams struggled to score. The Eagles led by as many as eight points at 15-7 after Cooke scored three of his 11 first-half points on a long-range salvo at the 10:21 mark.

The first period featured eight ties, and the Panthers rallied for their first lead of the half when Javier Palacios converted a pair of foul shots to give the Panthers a 26-24 advantage with 57.3 seconds to go before halftime.

Tyrone Walker rebounded and scored on a missed shot at the other end, and then Cooke stepped in front of a pass, was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to push Winthrop back ahead, 28-26. But the Panthers drew even at the end of the half when Echenique powered his way for a layup just before the buzzer to knot the halftime score at 28-28.

Winthrop scored 10 of the first 14 points of the second stanza to build a 38-32 cushion at the 16:04 mark. But HPU answered with a 7-3 streak to tie the game at 41-41 after Jorsua Chambers missed a jumper, got the rebound and then stepped outside the arc and nailed a three-pointer with 12:40 left.

Cooke drained a three at the other end to help WU re-take the lead, and after Shuler was fouled and hit a free throw, Walker grabbed a crucial rebound and fed Martin for a big three-pointer and a 48-41 advantage with 11:43 to play.

High Point wouldn't go away and used a 16-9 run to pull even at 57-57 after Gathings converted back-to-back traditional three-point plays at the 7:18 mark.

But the Eagles scored six points in a 35-second stretch to open a 63-57 lead and never looked back after Martin tipped in back-to-back buckets. HPU wouldn't get closer than three points the rest of the way.

HPU's fourth-leading scorer, Chris Meeks, didn't make the trip after suffering a mouth injury in the first minute of Monday's game.

The Panthers return home Saturday to entertain in-state rival UNC Asheville as part of a doubleheader. Tip-off in the Millis Center is set for 4:00 pm, with a women's contest between HPU and Birmingham-Southern slated for 7:00 pm.