For the second night in a row, sophomore Arizona Reid posted a career high scoring performance with 24 points including a pair of free throws to ice the game in a 70-67 victory for High Point over Maine.
High Point improves to 1-1 on the young season and captures third-place at the William & Mary Tip-Off Classic. Maine falls to 0-2 with the loss.
Reid, a guard from Gaffney, S.C., also hauled down 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year. Freshman Justin Dunn chipped in 12 points including a pair of late buckets to keep the Panthers in front.
High Point got off to a quick start using a 9-0 run to grab an 11-2 lead after just four minutes of play. Maine battled back and eventually earned their first lead, 20-21, at the 5:32 mark. The Panthers regained the lead, 29-23, with a 7-0 spurt that included a trey with the shot clock winding down by Akeem Scott. HPU maintained a lead over the closing minutes and took a 36-32 lead into the lockeroom at halftime.
"I am proud of the way we continued to fight and find a way to win," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "We had some guys step up and make some big shots down the stretch and really played some tenacious defense in the final possession to secure the win. This is a big win for our team."
The Panthers kept things rolling out of the break, outscoring the Black Bears 15-3 to start the second half earning their largest lead of the game 51-35 at 13:54. However, Maine again fought its way back into the game closing the gap to three points on several occasions.
The contest got even closer in the closing minute after a pair of free throws by Maine trimmed the margin to a single point, 68-67, with 0:40 left to play. Following a timeout, HPU ran the clock down and Reid was fouled on the block with 17 seconds remaining. He calmly stepped to the line and sank both free throws to put the Panthers up by three. On the Black Bears final possession, a smothering High Point defense refused to allow an open look as a desperation three-point try caromed off the rim at the buzzer.
High Point gets little time to enjoy the victory, as the Panthers return to the hardwood on Monday against Southeastern University at 7 p.m. in the squad's home opener for 2005-06.
