HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. — The Averett University men's basketball team used a strong first half performance to defeat Hampden-Sydney College 71-59 in its season opener on Tuesday night at Fleet Gymnasium.
 
Averett (1-0) took control with a 13-0 run to open the game led by effective shooting from senior Bradley Robinson and junior Charles Bryant. Hampden-Sydney (0-1) couldn't find an answer to the Cougars' defense and didn't get on the scoreboard until nearly eight minutes into the game. Averett used the Tigers' offensive struggles to its advantage, posting an 18-point lead when freshman Austin DeLucia sunk a 3-pointer at the 5:24 mark to put the Cougars ahead 29-11. However, Hampden-Sydney managed to find some offense near the end of the first period and had trimmed the Averett lead to 33-21 by halftime.
 
Averett started out the second period strong as well, using an 18-7 run to gain its biggest advantage of the game at 51-28 with just under 10 minutes remaining. However, the Tigers used a strong shooting performance from the perimeter to cut their deficit down to 10 with 1:02 remaining. That's as close as Hampden-Sydney would get though, as Averett's defense tightened up to pull out the non-conference road victory.
 
Sophomore James Contreras Jr. matched his career-high with 15 points and grabbed a career-best seven rebounds. Bryant also added 15 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds. Senior Trevor West added 12 points and seven rebounds, senior Carter Jones chipped in seven boards and DeLucia totaled nine points in his debut. Robinson also finished with nine points, all from beyond the arc.
 
The Cougars shot 46.7 percent from the field in the victory, while limiting the Tigers to a 36.1 percent field goal shooting percentage. Averett outrebounded Hampden-Sydney 47-33 and outscored the Tigers by 12 in the paint.
 
Averett takes the court again Friday when it travels to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to take on Baruch College during the first day of the Virginia Wesleyan College Marlin Tip-Off Tournament at 5 p.m.