Box Score BOX SCORE
Postgame with Scott Cherry

Nick Barbour tipped in a rebound of his own shot in the final second of overtime to lift the High Point University men's basketball team to an 82-80 win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday night in Boiling Springs, N.C. Barbour had 30 points in the game to lead all scorers and Eugene Harris scored 22.

"I'm really happy for my guys to get that win. We were down two different times in the second half but we made some defensive stops and made some plays and were able to come back and pull out the victory," said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "A lot of guys stepped up big. Obviously Nick Barbour and Eugene Harris came up big with their points, but also David Singleton off the bench and Corey Law to get that tip at the end. I'm just really happy for the guys to get that victory."

High Point stayed above sea level with the win, improving to 11-10 overall and 6-5 in the Big South. Gardner-Webb fell to 6-15 overall and 3-8 in Big South games.

In the final minute of regulation, Harris completed a two-and-one off a timeout to tie it up at 66-66. Gardner-Webb answered with a layup from Auryn MacMillan and Barbour turned around with a jumper for HPU that made it 68-68 with 20.8 seconds on the clock. Gardner-Webb had the next possession and tried to make it the final, but a turnover gave HPU the ball back with 3.4 seconds on the clock. Harris tried a long-range three-pointer at the buzzer but missed, sending the game into overtime.

In OT, High Point took a 74-71 lead before a pair of baskets made it 75-74 in favor of Gardner-Webb. Barbour hit a pair of free throws before MacMillan answered to give GWU the one-point edge. Barbour hit a pair of baskets to make it 80-77 HPU with 29.6 seconds on the clock and Gardner-Webb's Grayson Flittner answered with a trey to tie it up. As time was running down, Barbour took a jumper, Corey Law tipped it up and Barbour was able to tip it in with 0.1 on the clock to lift the Panthers to their first overtime win of the season.

Each team had runs early in the game. The Panthers took a 6-3 lead before an 8-0 run by Gardner-Webb made it 11-6. The Panthers then went on a 13-4 run of their own to take a 19-15 lead. Harris knocked down his first two three-point attempts, the first was the first basket of the game and the second came after a great shot fake that made it 22-18 in favor of HPU. The Panthers held a slim lead before Gardner-Webb's Jonathan Moore hit a pair of free throws to make it 29-28. A Flittner free throw and Jonathan Henley layup got Gardner-Webb out to a 32-28 lead before the Panthers closed the first half on a 10-0 run. Tehran Cox capped it with a layup before halftime.

Gardner-Webb cut into the Panthers' lead after the break, getting a pair of layups from Brandon Jackson and one from Stefon Johnson that made it 40-38. The Panthers then got baskets from David Singleton and Barbour to make it 44-38 before an 11-1 Gardner-Webb run capped by a layup and a trey by C.J. Hailey made it 48-45 GWU. The teams traded baskets before Gardner-Webb was able to open up an edge, getting a two-and-one from MacMillan that made it 63-56.

The Panthers pecked away at the GWU lead, with Barbour hitting four free throws that cut Gardner-Webb's lead to 64-60. After a pair of free throws by Gardner-Webb's Jackson, Harris hit a three-pointer that made it 66-63 with 1:40 remaining in the game. The Panthers were able to make it 68-68 and force the extra frame.

Along with Barbour's 30 points, he pulled down four rebounds. Harris put in 22 points and had four steals for HPU. Cox had five points, five rebounds and five assists. Moore led Gardner-Webb with 25 points, Hailey scored 16 and MacMillan and Anton Silver each scored 11.

High Point has two more road games next week starting with a non-conference matchup at Longwood on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Panthers travel to Radford for a Saturday matchup with the Highlanders. HPU topped Radford, 83-77, in the teams' first matchup of the season on Jan. 9 at the Millis Center.