Box Score BOX SCORE
The High Point University men's basketball team led almost the entire game and held off a surging Radford Highlander squad, 72-70, before a crowd of 1,543 on Saturday night at the Millis Center. Junior
Shay Shine scored 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Panthers.
“We would have liked to finish out the game a little easier and hit a few more free throws but I give a lot of credit to my guys, they hung together and stuck together at the end. When they needed to make some defensive stops they did. We built a couple big leads in the game – I would have liked to have kept it at 15 or 20 – but I give credit to Radford for doing what they did on the road. We're just happy to pull out the win and get our third win in a row.”
High Point improved to 9-13 overall and 6-7 in the Big South while Radford dropped to 5-18 overall and 2-11 in league play.
Behind Shine's 18 points, junior guard
Nick Barbour scored 14 and freshman forward Du'Vaughn Maxwell scored 11 for the Panthers. Playing with a hand injury, redshirt-sophomore
Corey Law led the Panthers with 10 rebounds, his eighth game this season in double-digit rebounding.
Radford's Blake Smith was the game's high scorer with 19 points, including four treys, and Jareal Smith scored 15 with six rebounds for the Highlanders.
The Panthers grabbed four steals in under five minutes to start the game, including two by Barbour. Shine grabbed a steal and went in for a fast-break dunk early in the game, then hit a three that made it 11-4 Panthers coming out of the first official timeout. HPU got the lead up to 10 points (16-6) on a trey by Barbour and led by as many as 20 (32-12) when
Justin Cheek hit a jumper late in the first half.
Radford's Jareal Smith completed a three-point play that kicked off a 15-2 Highlander run in the final minutes of the first half, getting Radford within seven points before HPU hit the final three buckets. Freshman forward
Travis Elliott hit a pair of free throws and
Xavier Martin hit a layup to close out the first half with the Panthers leading, 38-27.
High Point got its lead back up to 15 points twice in the early minutes of the second half – first on a layup by Maxwell and then on a dunk by senior
Earnest Bridges that made it 48-33 – but Radford kept coming back with runs to keep the game close. Radford scored the next 11 points (including five from Blake Smith and four from Jareal Smith) to get within four. The Panthers' lead was back to double digits (62-51) when Barbour dished to Shine for a three-pointer and then Barbour drained a pair of free throws.
Radford got the game back within four points (64-60) when Jareal Smith hit one of two free throws, and the Highlanders had a chance to get closer but Tolga Cerrah missed two from the charity stripe.
Tehran Cox subsequently hit a pair for the Panthers, but an Evan Faulkner trey got Radford within three (66-63). Radford got the ball back and Jareal Smith went to the hoop but was called for an offensive foul. Elliott scored on the ensuing HPU possession, making it 68-63.
Down six in the final minute, Johnathan Edwards hit a three-pointer that made it 70-67 and Blake Smith hit a three with six seconds left that made it 71-70 in favor of the Panthers. Radford's Faulkner fouled Maxwell before the next ball was inbounded and Maxwell hit one of two to make it 72-70. Radford had the last possession but Blake Smith's three-point attempt hit off the front of the rim.
The Panthers host North Carolina Central in a non-conference matchup on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Millis Center. High Point defeated NC Central twice last season.
