DANVILLE, Va. — Despite outscoring Guilford College in the second half, the Averett University men's basketball team couldn't overcome a big first-half deficit in a 81-68 non-conference loss to the Quakers on Tuesday night at the Grant Center.
 
Down 42-21 at halftime, Averett (2-2) came out strong in the second half, outscoring Guilford (4-1) 47-39 in the period. The Cougars slowly chipped away at the Quakers lead and got it their deficit down to 13 when junior Trevor West scored on a fastbreak to make the score 60-47 with 9:29 to play. Guilford reestablished its lead to as many as 19 points before senior Cody Stephens hit a free throw to convert a three-point play with 3:28 remaining.
 
Time, however, ran out on the Averett comeback attempt.
 
The Cougars only committed three turnovers in the second half while forcing Guilford into four. Averett shot 44 percent from the field after the break and converted 10 of its 11 attempts from the charity stripe.
 
Guilford, coming off a 77-75 loss to No. 15 Emory University on Saturday, came out strong in the first half. The Quakers led by as many as 26 before junior Carter Jones' put back cut the lead to 42-18, which was the start of a 5-0 run for Averett to end the half.
 
West led the Cougars with his season-high 22 points, shooting 9-for-17 in the second half. Junior Bradley Robinson notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Jones finished matched his career high of three blocks and added 13 points and seven rebounds. Stephens added a team-high four assists on the evening to go with seven points and six rebounds.
 
Johnny Rice paced the Quakers with 16 points and six rebounds.
 
Averett returns to action when it takes on Johnson & Wales University on Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Grant Center.