A scoring surge early in the second half by UNC Asheville proved to be the difference in a disappointing 74-58 road loss for High Point on Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd at the Justice Center.

High Point (8-7, 1-1 Big South) held a halftime lead on the road after a strong early showing but were unable to maintain the advantage against a determined, senior-led Asheville squad (13-4, 2-0).

The loss snapped a five-game win streak against UNCA for the Panthers with the Bulldogs improving to 10-1 at home this season.

Senior Arizona Reid led the way for High Point earning his Big South leading 11th double-double of the year with 15 points and 15 rebounds including 11 points and 12 boards in the opening half. Reid, who also recorded a team best five assists on the night, moved into 4th place on the all-time Big South rebounding chart and climbed to 9th on the league's all-time scoring list.

Sophomore Tim Burns finished with 11 points for HPU marking his fifth double-digit total in the last six games. Senior Mike Jefferson chipped in eight points as did freshman Earnest Bridges, who scored a pair of baskets over UNCA's 7'7 center Kenny George.

Asheville got a game high 27 points from reigning Big South player of the Week Bryan Smithson, including 24 in the second half, along with seven assists. Vincent James added 13 points and George ended the game with 12 points.

HPU grabbed an early 16-8 lead following a sluggish start for both squads that included just one basket per team through the first five minutes of play. Asheville scored nine straight points to take the lead at 17-16 setting off a series of lead changes before the Panthers made a late charge to grab a 31-27 halftime lead. Reid and Jefferson dropped in back-to-back treys in the closing minute to spark the surge.

After a dunk by Cruz Daniels to open the second half put HPU up by six, Asheville raced back with a 17-2 run led by nine points from Smithson to grab a 44-35 lead with 14:31 to play. The Bulldogs continued to build on their lead earning a 55-41 advantage at 10:08 before the Panthers began to claw their way back to pull within eight points, 61-53, with 4:41 left. UNCA scored the next eight points capped by a steal and dunk from Smithson to end any HPU comeback attempt.

High Point shot just 38 percent from the floor for the game while Asheville finished at 56 percent including a 17-25 (68 percent) performance in the second half. The Panthers made five three-pointers to aid their cause in the first half but missed all six attempts from long distance in the closing 20 minutes.

The Panthers, who begin a stretch of five games in 10 days this weekend, welcome Coastal Carolina to the Millis Center at 7 p.m., on Saturday. The game, which is being televised live by SportSouth and has already been listed as a sellout, has been designated as "White Out" night with fans encourage to wear white to the game.