HIGH POINT, N.C. – An offensive onslaught from the high-flying Panthers of High Point doomed Lipscomb (0-3-0) to a 3-1 defeat, Thursday night.

“We made some mistakes tonight, which we have to work on eliminating,” said head coach Charles Morrow. “Every game we’re making improvements, the process is just taking a little longer than it has in years past. Every game we’re getting better, which is an encouraging sign.”

Though both sides ended up with similar shots on goal numbers (six for High Point, five for Lipscomb), the Panthers attacked all evening, nearly doubling up the Bison in total shots taken at 19-10.

After being held without a score for most of the first half, High Point broke through in the 43rd minute of action. Shawn Sloan brought down a cross Ryan Bennett and put it away for his season’s first goal, giving the Panthers a leg up on Lipscomb going in to halftime.

“It was unfortunate to go down on that goal so close to the end of the half,” said Morrow. “After that, we had a period where the game got away from us for a minute.”

The offensive march for High Point resulted in a significant advantage in corner kicks on the night, 10-4.

The Bison kept the Panthers at bay through the opening minutes of the second half, but High Point would strike again in the games 62nd minute.

Sloan sent a free kick into the box from around 40 yards out, and 6-2 midfielder Adam Sewell headed it home for the games second tally.

Disaster would strike a scant two minutes later, with Lipscomb junior Jeremy Reid drawing a yellow card in the box and giving High Point Hermann Trophy candidate Karo Okiomah a penalty kick chance. He converted for his season’s first goal to give High Point a 3-0 advantage.

Lipscomb would get on the board in the 78th minute, with High Point’s Todd Ray accidentally deflecting the ball past his keeper for an own goal.

Bison senior Brent McGee made three saves on the evening. His counterpart between the pipes, High Point’s Michael Chesler, made five saves on the night for the victory.

Chamberlain and senior Garret Pettis were the main playmakers for the Bison on the evening, with each taking two shots and putting one on goal. Burkhardt, senior Evan McGee and sophomore Isaac Pile each put a shot on goal for Lipscomb.

“Our style of play is coming together each game,” said Morrow. “We don’t have a dynamic game-changer, but we’ve got a ton of very good players. It’s going to be a total team effort every game.”

For the Bison, one encouraging sign on the evening was the return of sophomores Kevin Barbar and Nick Bibb, who each saw their first action of 2011 against High Point. Barbar started and played 49 minutes in the match, while Bibb turned in a solid 20 minutes off the bench.

The Bison return home for a couple of days rest and training before hosting 2010 Atlantic 10 champions Xavier, Sunday, at 2 p.m.

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