Nick Barbour scored 22 points and Corey Law tallied a double-double, leading High Point past Gardner-Webb 68-58 on Monday night in the first round of the Big South Conference tournament.
Law had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Shay Shine chipped in with 11 points for the Panthers (13-17), who advanced to the tournament's quarterfinal round on Wednesday against UNC Asheville.
This contest was close throughout, although High Point led for all but 1:11 of game time. The Panthers took a 26-22 lead at the break and outscored the Runnin' Bulldogs 42-36 in the second half to seal it.
The teams split their regular-season series, with High Point winning on Feb. 4 and Gardner-Webb coming out on top in the Jan. 7 meeting. Both games went into overtime.
Tashan Newsome led Gardner-Webb (12-20) with 21 points.
