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Five players scored in double digits as the High Point University men's basketball team opened the 2010-11 season with a 90-57 win over Ferrum on Saturday night at the Millis Center. Junior transfer Shay Shine and freshman Du'Vaughn Maxwell each scored 12 points to lead the Panthers while redshirt-sophomore Corey Law had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

"We came out much better in the second half after starting slow in the first half," said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "We just couldn't score in the first half but we played well defensively and held them to 22 points. I thought our defense was good for the whole game except for a few stretches. Offensively, we were much better in the second half. We moved the ball well and took much better shots, and the stats showed it."

The Panthers (1-0) shot 24.3 percent in the first half and 64.0 percent in the second half while holding Ferrum (0-1) to 37.0 percent shooting for the game. High Point opened the season with a win for the second year in a row.

HPU got off to a slow start in the contest and led Ferrum by just one, 7-6, with a little over 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Freshman Justin Cheek managed to kick start the High Point offense with a three-pointer from the right corner to spark a 19-4 run for HPU over the next 8:53 as the Panthers opened a 16-point lead. Shine scored eight points during the run and High Point defense forced 10 turnovers to help HPU pull away.

Ferrum managed to finish the first half on a 9-3 run but HPU still led, 33-22, as the teams headed into the locker rooms. Shine led all scorers at the break with eight points while Law finished the period with seven points and seven rebounds. Keith Crump had seven points and four rebounds to lead Ferrum.

High Point opened the second half on a 20-6 run to build a 53-28 lead with just under 14 minutes left in the game. Shine hit a three to start the HPU run and junior Nick Barbour went 2-2 with two free throws to lead High Point with six points during the run.

HPU led 71-49 with just under five minutes remaining in the game when Cheek brought the Millis Arena crowd to its feet on back-to-back plays. The guard hit a three in the right corner while being fouled, converting the free throw for a four point play. He then picked off a pass on Ferrum's next possession, outraced a defender down the court and threw down a contested dunk to bring the score to 77-49.

High Point pulled away for the 33-point win over the final four minutes, playing the majority of the time with five freshmen on the floor. The six HPU freshmen combined to score 46 of HPU's 90 points. Maxwell led the way with 12 points while Cheek added 10.

Marshall Hamilton, JT Edwards and Lamont King all finished with 12 points for Ferrum.

High Point University is back in action on Monday night when the Panthers travel to Old Dominion for a 7 p.m. matchup in Norfolk, Va.