Led by 29 points from Arizona Reid, High Point overcame an extremely hot start by UNC Asheville and blitzed the Bulldogs for a 90-64 Big South Conference victory on Saturday night in front of a noisy crowd of 1,721 at the Millis Athletic Center.
High Point (12-5, 3-0 Big South) scored just eight points in the first 10 minutes of the game and trailed Asheville (5-11, 1-2 Big South), 29-8 before out-scoring the Bulldogs 42-5 over the next 15 minutes of play to take control of the game.
With the win the Panthers have now won 14 consecutive home games including a perfect 10-0 mark this season. HPU has also now defeated UNC Asheville four straight times.
Reid, a junior forward, posted his fourth consecutive game of 20 or more points in leading the Panther attack. With this performance, he is now just seven points shy of 1,000 for his career. Reid also led the team with 15 rebounds to record his seventh double-double of the year.
Junior Mike Jefferson scored 16 with Landon Quick chipping in 13 points while dishing out six assists and swiping four steals. Freshman Eugene Harris added a career-best 13 points to aid the HPU rally.
Asheville was led by 19 points from Bryan Smithson with Reid Augst finishing with 13 and Garrett Moles getting 10.
The Bulldogs raced out the gate taking a 29-8 lead with 10:44 on the clock in the first half. High Point struggled offensively going scoreless for an eight-minute span as Asheville scored 19 consecutive points to earn the double-digit advantage.
"We had a slow start but I was proud of how our guys handled it," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "We could have folded but they kept battling and refused to quit. We depended on our defense to allow us to have a chance to make a comeback and eventually some shots started to fall for us."
Following a second timeout, the Panthers began to slowly chip away at the deficit. High Point's defense turned up the intensity as Asheville's shooting eventually cooled off. HPU allowed the Bulldogs just three points over the final 10 minutes of the opening frame and used a 25-3 surge of their own to take a 33-32 lead into the lockeroom at halftime. UNCA failed to score a point for the final 3:36 of the frame.
The Panthers maintained the momentum after the break holding Asheville scoreless for the opening 4:16 of play in the second half. During the Bulldog drought, HPU scored 15 straight points to build their own double-digit advantage. High Point extended their lead to over 20 points with 10 minutes left and held that margin for the remainder of the contest.
"This was an important win for us," added Lundy. "The crowd really got involved and I think they were definitely a factor in keeping us going during the rally. I don't think I have ever been involved in a game with such a large scoring swing. To be able to come back from 20 points down and win by over 20 says a lot about the character and determination of the guys on this team."
High Point looks to extend its home win streak on Wednesday as the Panthers play host to Big South rival Liberty at 7 p.m.
