DANVILLE, Va. — The Averett University men's basketball team dropped its USA South Conference opener 70-65 against preseason favorite Maryville College on Friday night at the Grant Center.
 
A tight game throughout, the Scots used an 8-3 run over the last two minutes of the second half to grab the victory. Down 62-59, junior Trevor West drained a 3-pointer to knot the game at 62-62 at the 2:57 mark.  However, Spencer Shoffner responded with a 3 of his own, putting Maryville (6-6, 1-0 USA South) ahead with two minutes left in regulation.
 
Neither team was able to score for the following two minutes until Christian Ford was fouled, sending him to the charity stripe, where he hit his only attempt (a Maryville lane violation negated a second shot), giving the Scots a 66-62 advantage with 32 seconds left. Averett (5-5, 0-1 USA South) forced a Jaumonee Byrd turnover but was unable to convert on the ensuing 3-point attempt, keeping the score at 66-62. Byrd grabbed the rebound and took the ball down the court and was fouled on his layup attempt. He sunk both free throws, giving Maryville its biggest advantage of the period, 68-62 with 17 seconds remaining.
 
However, the Cougars were able to respond when junior Bradley Robinson nailed a 3-pointer with four seconds left, making the score 68-65. That would be as close as Averett would get as it was forced to foul Shoffner on the ensuing drive, sending him to the line for two attempts. Shoffner hit both free throws, giving the Scots a five-point advantage with four seconds on the clock.
 
Despite the loss, Averett opened the second half on a 16-9 run to take a 50-42 lead when senior Cody Stephens drove into the paint and converted his layup at the 12:22 mark. However, Maryville answered with a 10-2 run of its own to tie the game at 52-52 with just over nine minutes remaining.
 
Maryville took its biggest lead of the game when Oscar Butler drilled a 3-pointer, giving the Scots an 18-10 lead with 13:37 left in the first half. However, the Cougars used an 11-3 run to tie the game at 21-21 when Robinson hit a 3-pointer with eight minutes remaining in the half. Averett eventually took a 34-31 lead into the break as West drove into the paint and nailed layup at the buzzer.
 
West and sophomore Charles Bryant led four Cougars in double-figure scoring woth 14 points each. Bryant also added seven rebounds. Freshman James Contreras Jr. scored a added 11 points. Robinson added 10 points and junior Carter Jones recorded 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
 
Byrd led all scoring with 22 points and added seven rebounds.
 
Averett returns to action on Saturday as it host conference opponent Covenant College at the Grant Center at 4 p.m.