Gardner-Webb connected on a late three-pointer and held off a final chance by High Point to earn a 60-57 win in Big South Conference men's basketball action on Saturday night at the Millis Athletic Center.

HPU (5-10, 1-4 Big South) saw its chance to win back-to-back games slip away when Grayson Flittner hit a three-pointer from the deep left corner with 27 seconds remaining to put Gardner-Webb (6-9, 2-3) ahead for good. On the Panthers final possession, freshman Steadman Short drew a foul with six seconds remaining but missed a pair of free throws that would have tied the game.

Freshman David Singleton scored a career-best 18 points to lead a trio of Panthers in double digits while also handing out a team-high eight assists. Junior Cruz Daniels finished with 15 points and hauled down 11 rebounds to earn the first double-double of his career, while fellow junior Eugene Harris chipped in 13 points. Short grabbed 13 rebounds to record his third straight double-figure performance on the glass.

Flittner and teammate Aaron Linn both finished with 20 points to pace the Runnin' Bulldogs. Flittner and Linn combined to make nine of the 11 three-pointers made by Gardner-Webb in the contest.

The first half featured a nip-and-tuck affair through the opening 14 minutes of play as neither team led by more than three points. High Point turned up the pressure on defense holding the Bulldogs scoreless for the final 6:09 of the period. HPU closed the half with a 13-0 run to hold a 28-18 lead at halftime.

The Runnin' Bulldogs raced out of the blocks in the second half using an 11-2 run to trim their deficit to one point, 30-29, just over two minutes in the period. Flittner sparked the run scoring eight points and assisting on the other basket. Gardner-Webb continued the surge minutes later taking a 44-37 lead after outscoring High Point 13-2 following the first media timeout of the second half.

High Point answered back with 11 straight points to regain the lead 48-44 with 8:21 remaining on the clock. Singleton keyed the Panther rally scoring five points and handing out assists on a pair of treys by Harris. From that point, neither team would lead by more than three points.

After going scoreless for almost four minutes and falling behind 54-50, High Point got back on track as Singleton made a pair of free throws at the 3:32 mark. Singleton scored a layup on the next possession to tie the score at 54 and then drew a foul after tracking down a blocked shot by Daniels. He made one of two free throw attempts, but HPU grabbed the rebound allowing Daniels to score seconds later on a jumper in the lane for a 57-54 lead.

Nate Blank made a jumper from the free throw line with 1:10 left to pull Gardner-Webb to within one at 57-56. A turnover by HPU had the Bulldogs running out on the break but Daniels blocked a lay-up attempt by Blank out of bounds to set-up the final hectic seconds of play.

High Point dominated play in the paint outscoring Gardner-Webb, 30-14, and earning a 42-26 advantage in rebounds. HPU struggled with 18 turnovers and also made just five of 18 three-point tries (27 percent).

The Panthers visit in-state rival UNC Asheville on Tuesday at 7 p.m., before returning home for a pair of home games against Radford (Jan. 17) and Liberty (Jan. 20).