Box Score (coming soon)


FERRUM, Va. — Strong starts at the beginning of each half helped No. 2 seed Ferrum College pull away to a 70-47 win over seventh-seeded Averett in Tuesday's USA South Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Ferrum (22-4) opened up with a 22-6 lead over the Cougars (3-23). Averett responded with a 10-2 run to close the gap back down to eight points with one minute to go before the Panthers' three-point play before the half gave them a 27-16 lead at the break.

Averett's Justin Pierce drained a jumper at the start of the second half to get the Cougars closer, but Ferrum scored the next seven points to extend its lead back to double digits. Ferrum's Derek Mitchell scored 20 of his game-high 36 points in the second half to help the Panthers put away the Cougars. He also had 17 rebounds.

Ferrum, which fell out of the D3Hoops.com poll this week, advanced to play the winner of Tuesday's Christopher Newport-Shenandoah game in Friday's semifinals.

Averett was led by Pierce's 17 points. Victor Cortes chipped in with 10 points. Senior Marcus LeCounte added three points and five rebounds in his final collegiate game.