Box Score BOX SCORE

Junior guard Shay Shine scored 10 points in a row to put the High Point University men's basketball team in the lead for good as the Panthers upset Liberty, 66-60, in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament on Tuesday night at the Vines Center in Lynchburg, Va. Shine led all scorers with 26 points.

“I'm proud of my kids for the way they came out tonight and executed our game plan,” said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. “We played zone, packed it in and forced them to take perimeter shots. Fortunately for us, it worked and they went 8-for-30 on three-pointers. My guys have been resilient all year, we've been through a lot this season, and I'm so happy it's ending on a high note with us advancing in the tournament.”

High Point improved to 12-18 overall while Liberty finished its season 19-13. High Point earned the No. 7 seed in the Big South Tournament with a 7-11 league record, while Liberty was the No. 2 seed with a 13-5 conference mark. The Panthers are the first No. 7 seed to advance since 2005.

Shine scored 20 of his 26 in the second half to lead four HPU scorers in double-figures. Tehran Cox and Nick Barbour each scored 11 points and freshman Xavier Martin scored 10. Cox added four steals while freshman forward Travis Elliott tied his career high with nine rebounds. The Panthers outrebounded Liberty, 32-30, the first time they led their opponent in rebounding in six games.

Liberty junior Jesse Sanders, the Big South Player of the Year, led the Flames with 15 points and six assists and Evan Gordon scored 12 points. John Brown grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and scored eight points.

Down 39-30 with under 15 minutes left in the game, High Point's Barbour bookended a 9-2 run, starting it with a trey and finishing with a jumper to get the Panthers within two (41-39). Two John Caleb Sanders baskets sandwiched a Shine free throw and Martin hit a pair of freebees to get HPU within four (46-42) before Shine took over.

Shine scored 10 straight points, including a pair of treys, to put High Point up 52-46 and prompt a Liberty timeout with 6:34 left in the game. After a John Caleb Sanders trey for Liberty, Cox grabbed a steal and laid it in to give HPU a 54-49 lead. Jesse Sanders hit two free throws but Shine countered with another trey to make it 57-51. High Point stretched its lead to nine (60-51) with 1:21 remaining before Liberty chipped it down to one.

High Point missed five free throws in the last minute to let Liberty get back into the game. A three-point play by Jesse Sanders and a trey from Gordon made it 61-60 in favor of the Panthers with 26 seconds left, but Barbour hit a layup, Shine hit two free throws and Cox hit a free throw to finish the game.

A 13-3 run midway through the first half spurred the Panthers to a 26-25 lead at the break. Liberty came out of the break to score 11 of the first 13 points in the second half before the Panthers made their comeback.

High Point University will head to Conway, S.C., to take on No. 3-seed UNC Asheville in the Big South Tournament semifinals on Thursday at 6 p.m. In the other semifinal at 8 p.m., host Coastal Carolina will play No. 4 seed VMI.