Box Score BOX SCORE
Postgame with Scott Cherry
Postgame with Tehran Cox

Nick Barbour hit a key three-pointer and Tehran Cox hit a pair of free throws in the final minute as the High Point University men's basketball team held off UNC Asheville, 66-62, on Monday night at the Millis Center. HPU's Eugene Harris led all scorers with 15 points and Cruz Daniels had his second double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) of the season plus six blocks.

High Point improved to 7-6 overall and 3-1 in Big South games with the victory while UNC Asheville dropped to 3-10 and 1-2. HPU is off to its best start in league play since opening 4-0 in 2006-07.

"I thought our guys gave great effort and made key stops at the end when we needed them," said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "We struggled offensively with 24 turnovers but as a whole I'm proud of my team, rebounding with a great effort in their second game in three days."

High Point led by as many as 10 points with under 10 minutes to play before UNC Asheville cut into the margin. Cox hit a pair of free throws and Harris hit his fifth three-pointer to push HPU's lead to 56-46. UNCA then came back with an 14-4 run, getting five points a piece from D.J. Cunningham and J.P. Primm capped with a layup from John Williams to make it 60-60.

Things started going HPU's way in the final minutes when Barbour connected for his first three-pointer of the night to make it 63-60. Williams hit a jumper and UNC Asheville sent Cox to the free-throw line with 22.7 seconds on the clock and a 63-62 HPU lead. Cox hit both free throws for a three-point cushion. UNCA missed a pair of three-point attempts, Barbour came down with the rebound of the second and was sent to the line for a pair, draining one to make the final 66-62.

Daniels came up big early in the game for HPU. He scored HPU's first seven points, blocked two shots and grabbed three rebounds in the first five minutes of play. The Bulldogs were strong early, getting a pair of dunks from Cunningham and Williams en route to a 15-7 lead before Harris hit a three-pointer. After a jumper from Barbour and a dunk from Corey Law, Harris hit another three pointer to give the Panthers their first lead at 17-15.

The Panthers continued on their run, pushing the lead to 30-19 before UNC Asheville hit four straight baskets, including a pair of layups from guard Primm to make it 30-27. HPU got the ball back with under five seconds left in the half. Earnest Bridges inbounded the ball to Cox, who passed it to a streaking Barbour and Barbour scored on a layup to make it 32-27 HPU at halftime.

The Bulldogs scored the first five points after the break to tie it up before HPU got its lead back. Daniels and Cox each hit jumpers before Harris drained another three-pointer to make it 39-34 in favor of HPU. The Panthers maintained the five-point lead for the next 10 minutes before making some headway, getting the lead up to 56-46.

Barbour scored 14 points, pulled down five rebounds and had four steals. Cox scored 10 points, his first double-digit scoring effort in an HPU uniform, and had four assists.

Williams and Primm each had 14 for UNC Asheville, while Cunningham posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

High Point hosts for the fourth game in a row on Saturday when the Panthers take on Radford at 7 p.m. at the Millis Center.