Mark Wilson tossed in 22 points and Danny Gathings added 16 points to lead High Point to an 88-72 win over VMI Wednesday night in Big South Conference men's basketball action in the Millis Center.

The Panthers (10-10 overall) improved to 5-2 in Big South play and moved into a tie for second place in the League with Liberty, while the Keydets dropped to 5-11 (0-6 in the Big South). High Point has won seven of its last nine games.

HPU led just 41-40 at halftime, but shot 61 percent from the field in the second half (and a season-best 54 percent for the game) while forcing 22 VMI turnovers. Jerry Echenique had 13 points for HPU and Zione White added 11 points.

Wilson shot 9-of-13 from the floor and broke the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in 11 games this season.

VMI got a game-high 24 points from freshman Reggie Williams and 14 points from Matt Coward. Both Williams and Coward had five assists.

The Keydets used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to grab a 26-18 lead on layups by Coward and Matt Murrer. But the Panthers chipped away and scored 18 of the next 25 points to jump in front, 36-33, on a three-pointer by Wilson at the 4:09 mark. HPU carried a slim 41-40 edge to the locker room.

VMI hung around in the second half and was within 53-48 after Murrer scored with 14:36 to go before the Panthers outscored the Keydets 10-0 over the next two minutes for a 15-point advantage (63-48) after back-to-back treys by White and Gathings.

The Keydets clawed within 73-66 after a jumper by Williams with 4:49 to go, but could get no closer.

VMI held a 34-31 edge on the boards. Tadas Mankevicius had eight points, four rebounds and two blocks for the Keydets.

High Point got a game-high seven rebounds from Gathings and a team-high five assists from Landon Quick. White, Titus Byrd and Akeem Scott each had three assists, while Scott collected five steals to go along with eight points.

HPU takes on Big South-leading Winthrop Saturday (7:00 pm) in the second half of a doubleheader to be televised live across North and South Carolina on C-SET (Time Warner Digital Cable Channel 126 in Guilford County). The HPU women host UNC Asheville at 4:00 pm (also on C-SET).