Box Score BOX SCORE

High Point University got 23 points from Nick Barbour (Danville, Va./George Washington) and 19 from Eugene Harris (Pittsburgh, Pa./St. Thomas Moore Prep) en route to a 100-74 win over Hampden-Sydney on Saturday at the Millis Center. The Panthers staved off a Tiger challenge and pulled away in the second half.

"It was a tale of two halves again, similar to the Wake Forest game," said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. "In the first half we lacked defensive intensity, gave up some easy shots and when they weren't making shots they were beating us to loose balls. I got after them a little bit in the locker room at halftime and then we proceeded to do the things we wanted to do from the get-go."

High Point improved to 2-1 and Hampden-Sydney dropped to 0-1.

HPU senior Cruz Daniels (Clearwater, Fla./Clearwater) opened the game with a dunk that put HPU ahead. The Panthers never trailed in the first half but it was never a comfortable lead. The Panthers got out to an 11-4 lead and Harris's second three-pointer made it 32-17 just under 12 minutes into the game before Hampden-Sydney surged.

Three-pointers by HSC's Ben Jessee and Harrison George and a pair of free throws by Turner King cut HPU's lead to five points less than two minutes later. HPU's lead hovered between 5-10 points for the remainder of the first half. Earnest Bridges (Raleigh, N.C./Wake Forest-Rolesville) hit a free throw that made HPU's lead 45-34 before Hampden-Sydney's Randall Ward hit a three-pointer to close out the half with the Panthers leading 45-37.

"They have a very good team and they're very well coached," said Cherry. "In the first half they really executed. In the second half we were able to hold them to 30 percent shooting and we were able to rebound and run."

The Tigers continued to challenge the Panthers, scoring the first four points of the second half before a Corey Law (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) dunk made it 47-41. Barbour hit a jumper before Tehran Cox (Nassau, Bahamas/Fayetteville Christian) stole the ball and scored to make it a nine-point margin. That started an 18-3 HPU run that made it 63-44 at the first media timeout of the second half. HPU extended its lead to 76-47 four minutes later on points from six different players en route to the 100-74 final.

Barbour's 23 points and Harris's 19 led the Panthers and each chipped in five rebounds. Junior David Campbell (Wheaton, Md./Good Counsel) tied his career-high 15 points on six-for-10 shooting, including a pair of three pointers. Daniels pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and junior Jourdan Morris (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) scored 10 points and had six boards in his first game of the year. Sophomore David Singleton (Coatesville, Pa./Hill School) had a career-high six steals and Cox tied his season-high five takeaways.

The Panthers outscored Hampden-Sydney 48-20 in the paint and 37-10 on fast breaks. King led Hampden-Sydney with 21 points and nine rebounds and Jessee scored 12.

High Point University is next in action against Auburn on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Eastern) in Auburn, Ala. The teams have played once previously – a 63-59 Auburn win on Nov. 16, 2001.