The High Point University men's basketball team played the two-time defending National Champion Florida Gators even over the final 20 minutes in a hard fought 88-70 loss on Wednesday night in front of 10,702 fans at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

The Panthers (6-6) trimmed a double-digit halftime deficit to just five points midway through the second half before seeing the Gators (13-2) regain momentum to hold off a determined HPU squad down the stretch.

"Florida is a talented team," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "We dug ourselves a bit of a hole in the first half but showed some good determination in battling back in the second half. This was definitely a disappointing loss but I felt like we got better as a team especially in the second half and had some bright spots that we can build on as we move forward."

Arizona Reid paced High Point with 22 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Sophomores Eugene Harris and Tim Burns both reached double figures in the game scoring 14 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Mike Jefferson handed out nine assists for the Panthers.

Marreese Speights, Florida's 6-10 center, finished with a career best 24-point, 15-rebound double-double to lead the Gators. Speights had 22 points and nine rebounds in helping UF gain a 50-34 halftime lead. Nick Calathes added 15 points and Jonathan Mitchell chipped in 12 for Florida.

For the game, Florida shot 53.7 percent from the floor including connecting on 10 three-pointers. The taller Gator squad also earned a 41-27 rebounding advantage. High Point shot 40.3 percent for the game and 84.6 percent from the free throw line. The teams committed just 12 combined turnovers, with High Point posting a season-low six miscues, and were also whistled for just 16 fouls in the game.

The two squads kept things tight over the opening minutes of the game. Florida used a 12-2 run midway through the half to grab an 18-7 lead. During the stretch, UF benefitted from several unfortunate missed shots by the Panthers. HPU made a late push to close to with in eight points, 37-29, with 3:42 left before the Gators mustered a 13-2 surge to close the half.

HPU scored the first five points out of the break and outscored Florida 19-8, including an 8-0 run, over the first seven minutes of play to cut the deficit to just five points, 58-53, with 12:57 left in the game. The Gators scored five straight points to halt the Panther surge and then built their lead over the closing minutes for the final margin of victory.

High Point will next play on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at home against Florida Christian College. The game marks the beginning of a stretch that has the Panthers playing in the friendly confines of the Millis Athletic Center for five of their next six contests.