BOILING SPRINGS – Jaheam Cornwall's game-tying shot was clean but just short Saturday and Gardner-Webb dropped a 72-69 heartbreak to High Point in Paul Porter Arena.

John-Michael Wright scored 25 of his game-high 28 points after halftime to lead High Point (6-9, 4-6 Big South) back from a double figures deficit.

Gardner-Webb (6-11, 5-7 Big South) shot 56.5 percent for the game and made 12-of-26 from three-point range (46.2 percent), but saw the Panthers heat up to 61.5 percent shooting in the second half to erase a GWU lead that stood for more than 27 minutes on Saturday.

The Runnin' Bulldogs led 31-26 at the break behind 12 points from freshman Jordan Sears and nine from forward Kareem Reid. High Point's Wright was 1-for-7 during that half for just three points.

Gardner-Webb came out firing again in the second half and grew its lead to 39-28 on a transition three from Jaheam Cornwall – capping an 8-0 run for the home team with 18:08 left.

High Point, specifically Wright, caught fire just in time to prevent Gardner-Webb from pulling away further. Down 43-33 with 15:37 left, Wright made back-to-back jumpers, assisted on a Caden Sanchez three, made another jumper and assisted on an inbounds layup for Sanchez to power an 11-1 run that tied the game at 44 with 11:54 to go.

Anthony Selden gave Gardner-Webb to lead back with a driving runner 24 seconds later and Sears knocked down another three-pointer with 9:48 to play for a 51-46 lead for the home team.

Both teams continued to battle and both made plays on each end – but Wright's ability to get into the paint kept the Panthers in business. He trimmed the lead to 51-48 with a pair of free shots and saw Lydell Elmore drain two more free throws with 8:46 to go to cut the lead to 51-50. Wright then stepped into another three-pointer with 7:24 left to cut the Gardner-Webb lead to 56-55.

A steal by Elmore resulted in a transition layup to finally put High Point over the hump, 57-56, with 6:31 to go – and Elmore connected on a baseline jumper and made an ensuing free throw with 5:51 left for a 60-56 lead for the visitors.

A Wright jumper with 4:26 to play extended High Point's lead to its largest, 64-58. Sears and Cornwall sandwiched three-pointers around a pair of Wright free throws to cut High Point's lead to 66-64 with 2:00 to go – but Wright got loose and banked in a jumper with 1:32 to play for a 68-64 edge.

D'Maurian Williams came through with two clutch free throws at the 1:06 mark, but High Point was able to get a short jumper from Alex Holt just before the shot clock expired with 36.4 seconds left to get its lead to 70-66.

A missed three-pointer for Gardner-Webb gave High Point the ball back and Wright went to the line but missed the first of his two free throws to keep the door open for the Runnin' Bulldogs.

Cornwall stepped into a 27-foot shot from the Runnin' Bulldog logo with 15.1 ticks on the clock to cut the lead back to 71-69 and, after a pair of free throw misses by the Panthers with 13.3 seconds left – Williams got off a clean look for a potential game-winner that was just off the mark.

The Panthers secured the miss and Ahmil Flowers made the second of two free throws for a 72-69 lead. A nice baseball pass from Ludovic Dufeal to Kareem Reid just inside the circle led to another clean look for Cornwall – but his game-tying shot was just short.

Gardner-Webb got a team-high 18 points from Sears, with the Daytona Beach, Fla., freshman knocking down 6-of-9 from long range. He made his first four to bolster a solid first half for the 'Dogs and dished off five assists with only one turnover.

Reid finished with 11 points, for rebounds and three blocks on 5-of-6 shooting and Cornwall came on late to finish with 14 points and six assists.

The free throw line stung Gardner-Webb Saturday, with only 11 attempts and five makes (45.5 percent). The home team held a rebounding margin edge for much of the game, but saw the physical Panthers move into a 28-25 lead in that category by game's end.

That included 12 offensive boards which led to a 16-6 margin for the visiting team in second-chance points. High Point also made 16 free throws on 22 attempts to overcome a cold 4-of-14 day from long range.

In addition to Wright's effort, High Point got 13 points from Elmore and 11 from Holt. Sanchez came off the bench for nine points.

Gardner-Webb remains home this week, hosting Presbyterian on Thursday night at 7:00 pm (ESPN+).