HARRISONBURG, Va. — Averett opened its season with an 84-79 victory over Bridgewater College at the Eastern Mennonite University Tip-Off Classic on Saturday night.

The Cougars (1-0) never trailed in the second half, but they had to hold off the Eagles down the stretch. Bridgewater (0-1) closed to within three points with just over two minutes to play, but senior Ryan Frazier buried a 3-pointer to push the Averett lead back to six with 1:14 left. The Cougars held on from there.

Senior Jonathan Rumley led the Cougars with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Frazier added 16 points, while senior Damien Brown and freshman Kenny Hart each scored 13 points.

Dominic Trawick paced Bridgewater with 13 points and Robert Rice finished with 12 points.

Bridgewater led for most of the first half, but Averett grabbed the lead in the final minutes. The Eagles, however, tied the game at 36-36 just before halftime.

Averett returns to action on Sunday at 4 p.m. against tournament host Eastern Mennonite. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN Radio 106.3 FM and on AverettCougars.com.