The High Point men's basketball team overcame a slow start and battled Liberty down to the wire in a hard-fought 55-51 loss on Saturday night at the Vines Center.

With the loss, HPU slipped to 10-9 overall and 2-3 in Big South play while Liberty improved to 11-9 and 3-2 following their 10th straight home victory.

Arizona Reid finished with 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the Panthers. Mike Jefferson scored 13 points while pulling down a season best eight boards and handing out a game high six assists. Alex McLean tallied an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double to pace the Flames.

High Point's offense was sluggish at the start of the game falling behind 9-0 through the opening five minutes of play. HPU missed four shots and committed five of their 15 turnovers in the contest during that stretch. Reid finally put the Panthers on the board with a jumper in the lane at the 14:35 mark.

The Panthers clawed their way back into the game cutting their deficit to just three, 15-12, with 6:26 remaining in the first half. Liberty pushed back in front with seven straight points to regain a double-digit edge. HPU closed the frame with a 13-3 run capped by a lay-up from Reid with two seconds left to earn a 25-25 tie at the halftime break.

Reid nailed a jumper to open the second half giving High Point their first lead of the night and setting off a back-and-forth battle that resulted in six ties and four lead changes over the final 20 minutes of play.

The Flames built an eight point lead (44-36), only to see High Point respond with the next eight points to again knot the score. David Campell drilled a three-pointer from the corner to answer a trey by Liberty's Jeremy Anderson to even the score at 47. Reid then gave High Point a two-point lead with a bucket at the 3:35 mark.

B.J. Jenkins made a trey for the Flames allowing them to regain the lead and McLean made one of two free throws to grab a 51-49 edge. Reid again stepped up for the Panthers dropping in a pair of free throws to tie the game at 51 with 0:45 left to play. McLean made a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a scramble for a rebound and then Jenkins added the final layup in the closing seconds after HPU's final possession for the tie came up just short.

High Point concludes its stretch of five games in 10 days on Monday night when the Panthers visit Radford for a 7 p.m., tipoff at the Dedmon Center.