The High Point University men's basketball team closed the home portion of its 2008 schedule on Friday night with a tough, hard-fought 64-61 loss to Youngstown State.

HPU (4-7) got 21 points from freshman Nick Barbour while junior Eugene Harris and sophomore Dave Campbell both chipped in eight points. Freshman forward Steadman Short pulled down a career high 10 rebounds to pace the Panthers on the glass. A trio of Penguin (2-7) players reached double-digits in the game led by 14 points each from Jack Liles and Kelvin Bright. Liles collected 13 rebounds to post a double-double.

The first half of the game was a back-and-forth battle with each team holding slight leads. The Panthers made the first significant push surging in front by six, 18-12, on the strength of a 9-2 run. Barbour scored five points in the rally capping the run with an old-fashioned three-point play.

The Penguins fought back and knotted the score at 22 with 6:31 left in the period. Minutes later, YSU scored five straight points to grab a 29-24 advantage. HPU turned up the defensive pressure in the closing minutes and even the score at 31-31 before the halftime break when Barbour drained a trey from the deep right corner as the buzzer sounded.

The competition remained close early in the second half as neither team would open up larger than a three-point edge. With the game tied at 49-49 with 7:24 left to play, Youngstown State grabbed control of the momentum with an 11-0 run over the three and a half minutes. During the YSU rally, High Point missed five shots and committed three turnovers.

The Panthers refused to quit and mounted a late charge of their own. After falling behind by 11 points, HPU scored six straight points to pull to within five at 60-55 with 1:28 remaining. David Singleton hit a pair of free throws and a layup to aid the High Point cause. Campbell drained back-to-back treys around a pair of YSU free throws to close the HPU deficit to three with 13 seconds left. After Bright missed a pair of free throws to secure the win for Youngstown State, High Point brought the ball up court and looked to be fouled on a buzzer-beating three-point attempt that fell short of forcing overtime.

High Point finished with six three-pointers on the night but struggled from the free throw line making just 9 of 21 attempts (43 percent). HPU also trailed 30-18 in rebounds at halftime before hitting the glass much stronger in the second half to finish with 44 boards to 48 for YSU.

Junior Cruz Daniels recorded a career-best eight block shots on the night to leading HPU to a season-best 17 blocked shots for the game. Short also tallied a personal high with six swats. With his performance, Daniels moved to sixth all-time in Big South history for blocks with 169.

After a break for Christmas, High Point returns to the hardwood on Dec. 28 when the Panthers travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for a game against the University of Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are coached by former HPU standout Tubby Smith. The game is scheduled to be televised live on ESPNU at 6 p.m. (CT).