The High Point University men's basketball used a stingy defense to earn a 76-53 victory over New Jersey Tech on Wednesday night in the West Regional consolation game of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off at Bank of America Arena.

The Panthers (1-2) limited NJIT (0-3) to just 16 points in the first half en route to tallying their first win of the season. Senior forward Arizona Reid finished with a game-high 29 points with sophomore guard Eugene Harris adding 21 in the HPU victory.

"I was proud of how our team bounced back tonight after a tough game yesterday," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "We did a good job of defending them tonight especially in the first half. I also thought we made a much more concentrated team effort to rebound the ball. We got contributions from a lot of people tonight."

High Point seized control of the game just five minutes into play using a 12-0 run to grab a 16-4 lead. Sophmore Cruz Daniels, who scored six points and pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds, got the surge started with a pair of free throws and also added a baseline jumper. Reid scored a fastbreak bucket while Mike Jefferson and Tim Burns closed the run with back-to-back three pointers.

HPU built as large as a 20-point lead during the opening stanza before taking a 34-16 advantage into the halftime lockeroom. The Highlanders shot just 29 percent from the floor in the first half and committed 11 turnovers.

After trading several baskets to open second half action, High Point used a quick 10-0 run to take a 47-23 lead with 15:46 left to play. The Panthers held a 31-point lead twice during the final period and saw all 12 active players hit the floor in the final five minutes of the contest.

For the game, High Point shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the field while connecting on seven treys on the night. The Panthers held a slight 35-31 rebounding edge while also forcing NJIT into 21 turnovers. Nesho Milosevic and Kraig Peters each scored 13 points to lead the Highlanders on offense.

In addition to his game high point total, Reid grabbed eight rebounds to move his career total to an even 700. He becomes the 17th player in Big South Conference history to reach that plateau while also joining an even more elite group of just eight League players to post at least 1,300 points and 700 caroms.

High Point returns to the Millis Center for their next game as the Panthers host Warren Wilson College on Monday at 7 p.m. in the 2007-08 home opener.