Despite a career high 32 point performance from junior Arizona Reid, the High Point Panthers were unable to extend their Big South road winning streak on Saturday night falling to Liberty, 96-79, at the Vines Center.
With the loss, High Point slips to 16-8 overall and 7-2 in the Big South Conference. The Panthers also suffered their first league loss on the road on Saturday night falling to 1-9 all-time at the Vines Center. Liberty (11-12) captured their fourth consecutive victory to up their conference record to 5-4
Reid led all scorers hitting on 12-of-20 shoots, including 4-of-5 from three point range to go with 10 rebounds before fouling out in the game's final minute. Landon Quick added 15 points and four assists on 6-of-9 shooting while Troy Bowen and Mike Jefferson added 10 points each in the loss.
The Flames nearly shot 60 percent for the third-straight game hitting 59.0 percent of their shots on 36-of-61 shooting behind Dwight Brewington's team-high 28 points on 12-of-18 shooting. Brewington added seven rebounds dished four assists and had two big blocks late in the game. Larry Blair added 20 points, including 18 in the second half, for Liberty allowing him to move into second place on the Big South Conference's all-time scoring list.
The contest started out neck and neck as the Flames held a slight 8-5 advantage to open the game when Alex McLean grabbed a Damien Hubbard miss and put it back in at the 17:08 mark.
The Panthers then held a slight 10-6 advantage over the next six minutes capped by a Cruz Daniels hook shot at the 11:12 mark, giving High Point the narrow 15-14 lead. The Flames immediately went on a 12-4 run capped by a B.J. Jenkins three-point basket with 8:15 remaining in the opening half, giving Liberty the 26-19 lead.
By time the clock reached under the four minute media time out, the Panthers had gone off on an 11-2 run to take the 30-28 lead on an Reid basket with 4:00 left in the half. The Flames bounced back by scoring five out of the next seven points to close out the half and take a 33-32 lead into the break on the back of Dwight Brewington making the second of his two free throw attempts with 27.9 seconds remaining.
The Flames pushed their lead to 10 points as they held a 24-15 advantage to start the second half which was capped by back-to-back Brewington baskets, giving Liberty the 57-47 lead. After a Brewington basket made it an eight-point lead, Porter stripped Jefferson then passed it to Brewington for the transition basket.
"I was disappointed in our defensive execution tonight," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "We allowed them too many easy run out scores in the second half. Liberty is playing well right now and when they get things rolling like they did in the second half they are a tough team to beat at home."
After Reid put a basket in to finish off a 6-3 High Point run, Blair came right down hitting a three-point basket with 7:45 remaining in the game to extend the lead back to ten at 63-53. Liberty stretched its lead to 90-75 on the back of a 25-20 advantage capped by Blair making his two free throw attempts with 1:12 remaining in the game. Included in those six minutes was a 13-0 run that included a Brewington basket, then two free throws by Blair and a run capping basket by Brewington.
The Flames were very efficient in the second half from the field, hitting on 67.6 percent of their shots on 23-of-34 shooting. After hot shooting in the first half, the Panthers cooled off in the second, shooting 38.2 percent on 13-of-34 shooting to finish the game at 43.1 percent shooting.
High Point returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Savannah State for its sixth road game in their last seven games. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.
