Box Score BOX SCORE

Nick Barbour (Danville, Va./George Washington) led the High Point University men's basketball team in scoring for the fourth time this season with 14 points and Corey Law (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) had nine points and seven rebounds in HPU's 75-54 loss to Auburn on Wednesday in Auburn, Ala.

"We got away from doing what we do," said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "[Auburn] started scoring and making some plays on the other end and our guys stopped playing the way we play … We've got to stop focusing on the offensive end and start focusing on defense and making some stops."

High Point dropped to .500 (2-2) and Auburn improved to .500 (3-3) with the final result.

On the first possession of the game, HPU point guard Tehran Cox (Nassau, Bahamas/Fayetteville Christian) fed Law on an ally-oop dunk to make it 2-0 Panthers. The teams traded the lead in early in the game and Barbour's second three-pointer made it 13-12 in favor of the Panthers just over 8:00 into the game.

HPU's shooting went cold shortly after, and the Panthers nearly doubled up the Tigers on fouls, which led to a 28-5 run by Auburn to close out the half with the score 40-18. Auburn finished several fast breaks and outrebounded HPU 24-15 in the half. Auburn's Lucas Hargrove led the Tigers' run in the first half with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Panthers had the ball to start the second half and opened the scoring when Cox drove to the basket for a layup. However, the Tigers opened up a 58-34 lead with 9:48 remaining. HPU went on a quick 7-2 run on scores by Law, Barbour and a three-point play by Jourdan Morris (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) but couldn't significantly cut into the Tigers' lead. Barbour finished a three-point play of his own shortly after that. HPU held the line in the second half, outscoring Auburn by a point (36-35) but couldn't make up any ground.

Eugene Harris (Pittsburgh, Pa./St. Thomas Moore Prep) had nine points for HPU, including a pair of three-pointers, and Jairus Simms (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) led HPU with three assists.

Hargrove led Auburn with 17 points and 12 rebounds and four other players scored in double figures for the Tigers.

"One game doesn't make a season, we'll be ready and focused for a good SC State team on Monday," said Cherry.

High Point University returns home to host South Carolina State at the Millis Center on Monday at 7 p.m. The Panthers then have five-straight road games, including their Big South opener at Presbyterian on Dec. 3 and a road game against Winthrop on Dec. 5.