High Point led the Big South regular season champion Radford Highlanders for much of the game before suffering a tough 69-65 loss on Wednesday night at the Dedmon Center.

High Point slips to 9-19 on the year and 4-13 in Big South play heading into its final regular season game this weekend. The Panther loss snapped a three-game win streak for HPU at the Dedmon Center. Radford improved to 18-10 and 15-2 after earning their ninth straight victory.

Freshman Nick Barbour continued his stellar play in the month of February finishing with a game-high 25 points including 14 in the first half. Barbour has now scored in double-digits in 10 consecutive games including seven of those with 20 or more. He also contributed six rebounds and three assists.

Eugene Harris added 14 points for the Panthers and Jourdan Morris finished with 10 points for his third consecutive double-digit outing. Cruz Daniels led HPU to a 39-35 advantage in rebounding after pulling down 11 boards, marking his third straight game with 10 or more rebounds.

Radford had four players tally double-digits led by Kenny Thomas, who scored 13 of his team-best 21 points in the second half.

"I thought our guys played their hearts out and deserved a better result," said HPU head coach Bart Lundy. "As a team, we played a great game against a really good team. This group continues to show its determination and I was very proud of our effort and desire to keep battling. We our a much better team than our record reflects."

The Panthers raced out of the gates taking an early 8-2 lead including scoring the first six points of the game. HPU then pushed their advantage to 13-6 before Radford answered with their own 9-2 run to knot the score at 15 with 11:10 to play in the first half. HPU responded with back-to-back treys from Nick Barbour and Eugene Harris to quickly regain the lead.

The Highlanders fought back scoring nine straight points while holding the Panthers scoreless for nearly four minutes to seize a 26-23 advantage with just under four minutes left in the period. HPU refused to go away and tied the score for the second time in the opening half at 30 on a layup by David Singleton with just over a minute remaining. RU got a short jumper by Phillip Martin with four seconds left to take a 33-32 lead into the halftime break.

Both teams turned up the defensive intensity to open the second half. The Panthers got things rolling first opening up a 44-37 lead following a 10-0 spurt that included five points from Barbour. Radford scored seven of the next nine points to pull within two points before High Point slowly edged pack in front. HPU held a 55-49 lead following a Jourdan Morris basket with 7:42 on the clock.

Radford capitalized on three straight turnovers by the Panthers to score six points and even the count at 55. Barbour hit a driving layup in traffic to move HPU back in front, then Harris hit a deep three-pointer to give High Point a three-point cushion with 3:45 left in the contest.

After Morris scored a bucket with 1:25 left putting the Panthers up 64-62, Martin answered with a three giving Radford a one-point lead, 65-64, with a minute to play. HPU forced a tough shot on Radford's next possession and appeared to have the ball rebounded but Barbour was whistled for a travel when he fell to the floor after contacting an RU defender.

Amir Johnson then made four straight free throws in the final 20 seconds to secure the victory for the Highlanders. Johnson had been held scoreless until his final three throws. For the game, Radford went 26 of 37 from the free throw line while High Point was just 4-of-7 and did not attempt a free throw in the second half.

The Panthers now return home to the Millis Center for their regular season finale against VMI on Saturday at 7 p.m.  HPU senior Melvin Crowder will be honored in a pregame ceremony. The High Point-VMI contest will cap a busy day of athletics on the HPU campus as the baseball team hosts Temple at Noon followed by the women's basketball game against Winthrop at 4 p.m.