DANVILLE, Va. — The Averett University men's basketball team held off Johnson & Wales University 70-67 in a thriller on Wednesday night at the Grant Center.
 
A tight game throughout, Averett (3-2) went ahead 68-67 on junior Carter Jones' layup with 47.6 seconds left on the clock. On its ensuing possession, Johnson & Wales' Tramain Parker took the ball down the court, but was unable to convert his jumper. Averett junior Bradley Robinson came down with a huge defensive rebound for the Cougars and Averett called a timeout with 31.3 seconds to play.
 
Following the timeout, the Cougars almost committed a costly turnover, but were able to make the save and keep possession of the ball.  After another quick timeout, freshman James Contreras Jr. was fouled with 9.3 seconds remaining. Contreras missed his first, but nailed his second attempt from the charity stripe, giving Averett a 69-67 advantage.
 
Robinson once again came up big on defense for the Cougars when he stripped the ball away from a Johnson & Wales player and was fouled. After missing his first attempt, Robinson converted his second free throw, extending Averett's lead to 70-67 with 1.5 seconds left.
 
After a timeout, Johnson & Wales (4-6) and threw a hail mary pass down the court. The receiver fell to the ground on the play as time ran out, clinching the non-conference victory.
 
Senior Cody Stephens led Averett with 15 points to go with five rebounds, while Jones finished with 13 points and recorded nine. Contreras scored a career-high 10 points and junior Trevor West scored 10 points with a season-high six assists. Sophomore Charles Bryant chipped in with nine points and five rebounds for Averett.
 
The Cougars shot 52 percent from the field, including going 14-for-21 in the second half. Averett also executed well from the charity stripe in the second period, converting 11 of its 16 attempts after the break.
 
In the first half, Averett led by as many as eight points before Johnson & Wales battled back to take a two-point lead with 1:38 left in the period. Contreras' jumper in the final seconds tied the game at 29-29 at the break.
 
After trading the lead, Johnson & Wales went ahead by as much as five midway through the second half. Averett used a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to jump back in front 58-53. Yet, the Wildcats closed the gap late to set up the exciting finish in the final minute.
 
Nick Crawford led the Wildcats with 15 points.
 
Averett returns to action on Dec. 10 when it travels to Lexington, Virginia, to take on Washington & Lee University at 7 p.m.