Box Score BOX SCORE

The High Point University men's basketball team trailed conference leader Coastal Carolina by just two late in the first half but a 24-6 run by the Chanticleers spanning both halves put the game out of reach as the Panthers fell to Coastal by a score of 82-58 Thursday night in the Millis Center.

“You've got to come out and give your best effort against a team like Coastal Carolina, they have won that many games in a row for a reason,” said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. “We did a good job in the first half and had it at 26-24. I felt like we did pretty well in the first half but we didn't sustain the level of effort needed in the second half.”

For Coastal Carolina, the win was its 17th in a row and the team improved to 19-2 overall and 10-0 in conference play. High Point fell to 6-13 on the season and 3-7 in the Big South.

Junior Nick Barbour came off the bench to lead HPU with 14 points and five rebounds in the loss while the Chanticleers' Desmond Holloway and Chad Gray each scored 17 to lead all scorers for Coastal. Sam McLaurin had a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) for Coastal Carolina.

After just over five minutes of action the Panthers trailed CCU by just one, 8-7, thanks to a fast break lay-up by senior Tehran Cox. The Chanticleers then grabbed control of the game with 14:08 left in the period when a three-pointer by Kierre Greenwood sparked a 12-4 run by Coastal to make the score 20-11 with 8:23 left in the first half.

The Panthers managed to pull back within two at 26-24 with 2:19 left in the first half on back-to-back three-pointers by Barbour. The Chanticleers scored the last six points of the half to take a 32-24 lead into the break.

Coastal Carolina opened the second half by outscoring the Panthers, 18-6, to go up 50-30 with just under 15 minutes left in the contest. The Chanticleers shot 8-10 from the field in that stretch.

The Chanticleers built their lead to as large as 28 (79-51) late in the second half before ultimately winning by 24. CCU shot 22-29 (75.9 percent) from the field in the second half and outscored High Point 48-22 in the paint for the game.

Junior Shay Shine joined Barbour in double figures for the Panthers with 10 points on the night while senior David Campbell finished with a season-high nine points.

High Point University returns to action on Saturday when it plays host to Charleston Southern at the Millis Center at 7 p.m. HPU will look to avenge its 77-69 loss to the Buccaneers earlier this season in Charleston, S.C.