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High Point University junior Branimir Mikulic hit a three-pointer to start the game and the HPU men's basketball team never trailed, getting an 87-79 victory over Wofford on Wednesday night at the Millis Center. Senior Nick Barbour led the Panthers with 26 points and senior Shay Shine scored 16.

"The key to this game was the play from our point guards," said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "Jairus Simms and Xavier Martin combined for 11 assists and two turnovers. They had six assists and one turnover in the first half when we got out to that lead. They controlled the game. Wofford is a good team so we knew they would make a run in the second half. They made some tough shots. We're looking at this game and the next two as the spring board to the rest of our season."

Barbour scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half and went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. That mark ranks second in HPU history behind Shine's 10-for-10 game against North Carolina Central last season. Mikulic scored all 12 of his points from behind the arc, going 4-for-6, to set a career high. Law also scored 12 points. The Panthers shot a season-high 57.7 percent from the field.

High Point turned the ball over just four times, a record low since the Panthers moved up to NCAA Div. I in 1999-2000.

Wofford got 28 points from guard Kevin Giltner, who hit eight three-pointers in the game. Brad Loesing scored 17 points and Lee Skinner scored 11 on 5-for-6 shooting. The Terriers shot 39.1 percent in the first half but came back with 71.4 percent shooting in the second period. They went 9-for-15 from three-point range in the second half.

With the win, High Point improved to 4-7. Wofford fell to 7-5.

Law hit his first four shots, Mikulic hit his first three (all treys) and Shine hit his first two (both treys) to lead the Panthers to a 27-9 lead less than nine minutes into the game. The Panthers hit 11 of their first 14 shots from the floor. The Panthers led 31-13 when Travis Elliott hit his third shot of the half.

Wofford cut into HPU's 18-point lead when Giltner hit a pair of three-pointers that started a 7-0 run, but the Panthers got back on track in the final minutes of the first half. Barbour scored five points on a 9-1 run to finish the first half, hitting a three-pointer with five seconds left that gave the Panthers a 40-24 lead at the break.

The teams went back and forth in the early minutes in the second half, Mikulic's fourth three-pointer giving the Panthers a 53-36 lead with 14:54 left. Wofford started to inch up as the second half wore on. After Barbour sank a three to make it 59-43 in favor of HPU, Giltner hit two more treys to ignite a 11-3 run that got Wofford within eight (62-54). Shine scored to put HPU back up by 10, but Wofford kept cutting away and was within four (66-62) when Loesing hit a pair of free throws with 6:05 left.

Momentum began to swing back in High Point's favor in the closing minutes. Martin finished a three-point play with 4:01 left and Barbour got a three-point play with 2:28 remaining to make it 74-65 Panthers.

Playing the foul game in the last minute, Wofford got within five (77-72) on a Loesing trey, but the Panthers hit their last eight free throws to seal the victory.

The Panthers are off until New Year's Eve when they host Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. at the Millis Center. HPU is back in action on Jan. 2 to host Charleston Southern at 7 p.m. Both games are double-headers with women's basketball games at 4 p.m.