High Point got career high performances from Cruz Daniels and Jourdan Morris and rallied from 12 points down in the second half to force overtime, but came up just short as UNC Asheville escaped with an 81-78 victory on Wednesday night in the Millis Athletic Center.

The loss snapped the Panthers (8-18, 4-12 Big South) five-game home win streak versus the Bulldogs (13-14, 9-7). It also marked the second time this season that HPU and UNCA have played a game down to the wire.

Daniels scored a career best 25 points and matched his personal best with 15 rebounds before drawing his fifth foul in the final minute of overtime. He also recorded four blocked shots to push his Big South season leading total to 69. Morris finished with 21 points for the first 20-point performance of his career while also handing out three assists. Freshman Nick Barbour scored 14 points to extend his double-digit scoring streak to eight games.

John Williams paced the Bulldogs attack with a double-double performance that included 32 points and 10 rebounds. Williams scored six of UNCA's 11 points during the overtime period including the final four points from the free throw line. Sean Smith chipped in 19 points for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs pushed a seven-point halftime lead to double digits midway early in the second half. Trailing by 12 points (58-46) with 11:41 remaining in the game, High Point mounted a charge with 11 straight points. The run opened with Dave Campbell scoring back-to-back baskets followed by made free throws from Morris and Eugene Harris and capped by a three-pointer from Barbour with 6:38 left to play.

Asheville held a lead until Daniels converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:50 left to give High Point a 66-64 advantage. Smith made a pair of free throws to tie the score for the fifth time in the game just seconds later. After trading baskets, Williams appeared to have won the game for the Bulldogs in regulation with a dunk at the five second mark. However, HPU's David Singleton raced the ball up the floor and found Harris on the baseline for a buzzer-beating jumper that rattled around the rim before falling through to force overtime with the score knotted at 70.

The Panthers never trailed by more than three in the extra session but also never held a lead. Singleton had a chance to give HPU a lead with 28 seconds left but missed a pair of free throws with High Point down one, 79-78. Williams made one free throw on Asheville's next trip down the floor and then collected an offensive rebound on Reid Augst's missed free throw with 11 seconds left to seal the win for the Bulldogs.

The first half featured a combination of hot-shooting by both sides but also included a collection of 22 turnovers for the two squads. Both teams were shooting better than 60 percent from the floor for most of the first half and Asheville finished the opening period at a 61.5 clip while HPU shot 55.6 percent.

The game was closely contested through the first five minutes of play until the Bulldogs used a 10-2 run that included back-to-back treys from Augst and Smith to take a seven-point lead, 19-12. The Panthers clawed back into the game with a 9-2 surge of their own paced by five points by Morris to even the count at 21. The score stayed close over the next several minutes, but UNC Asheville slowly built an advantage and took a 43-36 lead into the halftime break.

High Point will enjoy a weekend off from competition before playing three games in six days over the final week of the regular season. HPU next plays at home against Longwood on Monday before visiting Radford next Wednesday and hosting VMI on Saturday, Feb. 28, in the regular season finale.