DANVILLE, Va. — Averett built a 20-point lead by halftime and cruised to an 89-68 victory over Methodist University in USA South Conference action on Wednesday night at the Grant Center.

The Cougars (9-7, 2-1 USA South) used a 16-2 run early in the game to take a 23-9 lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half. A jumpshot by senior Jonathan Rumley with a little more than a minute before halftime extended the Averett lead to 44-24 at the break.

From there, Averett pushed its lead over Methodist (6-9, 2-1 USA South) to as much as 35 midway through the second half. The Monarchs cut it to as little as 16 with 3:37 to play, but Averett head coach Jimmy Allen put his starting five back in to avoid any chances of a Methodist comeback.

Despite a monster dunk in the final seconds, Averett senior Damien Brown fell one point shy of reaching 1,000 points for his career. He finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Brown had several chances to hit the milestone in front of the home crowd, but he missed three of his four free throws in the final 1:33. Only six Cougars have scored 1,000 points in a career.

Rumley led the team with 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Senior Ryan Frazier finished with 11 points, while freshman Kenny Hart added 11 points. Freshman Chris Pagentine chipped in with a career-high nine points off the bench.

The Cougars shot 50 percent from the floor for the game and dominated the paint 42-18.

Mark Jernigan led the Monarchs with 16 points, while A.B. Lehmann and Alex Meadows scored 13 apiece.

Averett returns to action at Christopher Newport on Saturday at 4 p.m.