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The High Point University men's basketball team took a 65-61 overtime loss to Gardner-Webb on Saturday night at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C. Senior guard Shay Shine led the Panthers with 22 points on the night.

"We didn't make plays when we needed to and we let this slip away," said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "They made plays in the end and that's all there is to it. We didn't finish it off like we have been. We've been holding leads. We have veteran players and we need to stick together and make plays at the end of close games."

Shine was the only HPU player in double figures and got his 22 points by going 6-for-12 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the line. Junior forward Branimir Mikulic hit a pair of treys and two free throws for eight points and sophomore Justin Cheek also scored eight. Three HPU players collected five rebounds.

Gardner-Webb got 14 points from Jason Dawson and 12 points from Tashan Newsome. Newsome and Stefon Johnson each grabbed nine rebounds. The teams were whistled for a combined 47 fouls – 25 on High Point and 22 on Gardner-Webb.

High Point fell to 6-9 overall and 2-3 in the Big South while Gardner-Webb improved to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

High Point led by seven points (55-48) when Shine hit a floater with 1:16 left in regulation, but Gardner-Webb chipped away at the lead and forced the extra period. After Shine's bucket, Dawson scored Gardner-Webb's next eight points on two treys and two free throws while the Panthers got just one free throw by Nick Barbour to make it a tie game. Barbour had a three-point attempt go off the rim at the buzzer.

Barbour hit a free throw to start overtime and the teams traded field goals. With a one-point lead, Gardner-Webb got buckets from Kevin Hartley and Laron Buggs to take a 64-59 lead. Shine hit a pair of free throws to get HPU within three with 1:12 left in OT but the Panthers couldn't capitalize on two possessions in the final minute.

The first half was closely contested, with the Panthers maintaining a one- or two-possession lead for most of it. HPU's Corey Law opened the game winning the tip-off and then scored the first basket, a jumper banked off the glass. Gardner-Webb held two one-point leads in the first half, the last coming on a Hartley three-pointer that made it 10-9 with 10:58 left. HPU's Shine followed it with a quick three and High Point led the rest of the period.

Gardner-Webb scored the first two points of the second half on a Mike Byron putback off the glass, and the teams traded quick baskets in the early going. Mikulic hit a trey for the Panthers and Newsome followed with another to put Gardner-Webb up 29-28 two minutes into the second half. Shine scored the next five points for HPU, putting the Panthers in the lead for the next nine minutes until Gardner-Webb came back to tie it at 42-42 on a three-point play by Donta Harper with 8:39 left. After Harper hit a layup to put GWU up, the Panthers retook the lead and held it until the last minute of regulation.

The Panthers have a pair of home games next week. High Point hosts Winthrop in its annual Blackout rivalry game on Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting conference leader UNC Asheville on Saturday at 7 p.m.