BOX SCORE

The High Point University men's basketball team took an 83-63 exhibition win over Bridgewater College on Saturday at the Millis Center. The Panthers got 16 points from junior transfer Shay Shine and 15 from junior Nick Barbour.

"I think we got contributions from a lot of different people. It was pretty much what I expected as far as what we got done," said second-year HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "Defensively, we accomplished some things but we have some things to work on. Offensively, we could have been better. We could have scored a lot more points if we shot better from the free-throw line and took better care of the ball. We've just got to get back to work."

Shine shot 7-for-11 from the floor and pulled down five rebounds along with his 16 points. Barbour grabbed a game-high three steals. The Panthers also got 11 points from Corey Law on 5-for-8 shooting while Jairus Simms and Du'Vaughn Maxwell each scored nine points. Maxwell also pulled down five rebounds, blocked four shots and grabbed a pair of steals.

On the boards, senior Earnest Bridges led the Panthers with seven rebounds and scored three points and freshman Travis Elliott grabbed six boards and scored five points.

The Panthers got out to a strong lead, outscoring Bridgewater 18-6 in the first five minutes, en route to a 46-28 halftime gap. Bridgewater pared High Point's lead to seven points (25-18) when Kyle Hammond hit a jumper and a free throw, but the Panthers opened it up after that point. With under eight minutes to play in the half, Maxwell hit a layup, Bridges tipped in his own shot and Simms hit a fast-break layup to get HPU out front by 17 points.

The Panthers kept their lead in that range until the final minutes of the first half when Barbour stole the ball and ran it down for a layup to make it 44-28. Hammond followed with a jumper before Shine got a steal and hit a layup to mirror Barbour's play shortly before.

Early in the second half, Maxwell got a monster stuff on a Rashaad Moore jumper and followed it up with a steal that led to a fast break on the next play. The Panthers kept their distance in the second half but didn't completely break the game open. High Point outscored Bridgewater, 37-35, in the frame. HPU shot just 15-for-30 from the free-throw line, including 12-for-22 in the second half.

For Bridgewater, Hammond was the top scorer with 13 points, while Ronnie Thomas and Cody Griffith each scored nine. Thomas also added four assists and Rick Maloney pulled down seven rebounds.

The High Point University men's basketball team opens the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 13 against Ferrum at the Millis Center at 7 p.m. HPU is coming off a 15-15 (10-8 Big South) season and returns nine players, including three starters. Barbour was named Big South Preseason Player of the Year and is the league's top returning scorer.