BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team cut a seven-point deficit to two when Haiishen McIntyre hit a layup with 3.5 seconds to go but Gardner-Webb held on for an 80-76 win on Saturday at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C. Redshirt-freshman John Brown scored 19 points with 10 rebounds and six blocks in the loss.
“Our guys competed the whole game, we just didn’t do what we needed to do to win in the second half,” said HPU head coach Scott Cherry. “We have six games left, four at home, and we’ve gotten through a tough stretch with five of our last seven games on the road. We’ve just got to get ready for a good Charleston Southern team next Thursday and we turn around and play Radford on the road less than 48 hours later.
Brown shot 7-for-15 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line and sophomore Adam Weary also scored 19 points. Sophomore forward Lorenzo Cugini scored 11 points including three three-pointers.
Sophomore forward Jerome Hill had a huge game for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, leading everyone with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman Tyrell Nelson scored 13 points and Donta Harper scored 12 for Gardner-Webb.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Panthers, who fell to 10-13 overall and 6-4 in Big South play. Gardner-Webb improved to 13-12 overall and 6-4 in the league.
High Point jumped out to a big lead in the first half, scoring the first six points and leading by 14 when freshman Anthony Lindauer hit a three-pointer to make it 27-13 with 9:56 remaining. HPU led by 13 (34-21) when Wallace hit a three-pointer off a turnover before Gardner-Webb was able to make a 9-0 run. A two-and-one by Hill followed by a Naji Hibbert floater made it 34-30. HPU’s lead was down to four, but Weary finished the half with a three-point play with 1.4 seconds on the clock to make it 41-34.
High Point came out and made it a 10-point lead (46-36) on a Cugini three-pointer early in the second half before the Gardner-Webb charge began. Strange swished a three-pointer on the other end and the Runnin’ Bulldogs were within two (48-46) when Nelson hit a long jumper to complete a 10-2 run. Gardner-Webb took its first lead of the game (52-50) on a second-chance layup by Harper. The teams dueled over the next over the next 10 minutes, the Panthers leading for the final time when Brown blocked a shot on the defensive end before hitting a jumper on the other end to make it 55-54.
A Jarvis Davis three-pointer made it 57-55 and Gardner-Webb led the rest of the way. It was 76-69 on a pair of Nelson free throws with 48 seconds on the clock before HPU cut it to two twice in the last minute. Brown hit a pair of free throws that made it 76-74 before Gardner-Webb’s Josh Castellanos hit a pair. After Gardner-Webb’s Hill missed two free throws with nine seconds left, Brown got the rebound on the second and dished to McIntyre, who went all the way down for a layup and was fouled. He missed the free throw and HPU nearly got the ball back, but a foul was called on Cugini and Hill sank two last free throws.
Brown’s six blocks were a career high and marked the first time an HPU player had at least five since Cruz Daniels blocked five shots against Presbyterian College on Feb. 27, 2010.
High Point is back in action on Thursday when it hosts Charleston Southern at the Millis Center. The game is set for 7 p.m. The Panthers play Radford on the road on Saturday at 4 p.m.