HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University Panthers pulled away from Bridgewater College in the second half to take a 96-53 victory in an exhibition contest Friday evening at the Millis Center.

The Panthers, the preseason favorite in the North Division of the Big South Conference, took control early in the contest behind the inside play of forwards John Brown, the Big South Preseason Player of the Year, and Allan Chaney, a transfer from Virginia Tech.

Chaney hit a short jumper and guard Derrell Edwards added a layup for a 4-0 Panthers lead before the Eagles got on the board when Ronnie Thomas drained a long 3-pointer.

Chaney and Bridgewater guard Tavis Stapleton traded hoops before a Chaney 3-pointer gave High Point a 9-5 lead.

High Point then opened some distance on the Eagles with a 10-0 run, powered by two dunks by Brown, to open up a 19-5 lead.

Brown scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half while Chaney scored seven points, all in the first four minutes of the game. Lorenzo Cugini came off the bench and made all five of his shots in the first half, including two from 3-point range, to match Brown in the scoring column.

Stapleton with seven points and Ed Reddick with four paced the Eagles in the first 20 minutes.

Brown finished with 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Panthers offense. The 6-foot-8 forward made 10-of-16 shots from the floor. Adam Weary and Cugini scored 12 points each for High Point.

Reddick scored 12 points for the Eagles and Stapleton added 11. Stapleton also led the Eagles on the boards with six rebounds.

High Point made 58.1 percent of its shots from the field (36-of-62). The Panthers were just as hot from beyond the arc, making 11-of-19 of its 3-point attempts for 57.9 percent.

The Eagles shot better in the second half, hitting 11-of-26 shots for 42.3 percent. For the game, Bridgewater made 22-of-58 shots for 37.9 percent.

Bridgewater will top off its regular season on Nov. 20 when the Eagles travel to Lexington, Va., to meet the VMI Keydets, another Division I foe from the Big South Conference.