WINCHESTER, Va. — Hood College used a late second half surge to defeat the Averett University men's basketball team 79-72 on Friday in the first round of the Body Renew Tip-Off Classic hosted by Shenandoah University.
 
Despite the loss, Averett (0-2) had three players finish in double-digit scoring. Senior Charles Bryant led the offensive charge for the Cougars, posting 21 points. Junior James Contreras Jr. had a solid night as well, finishing with 17. Sophomore T.J. McAllister scored a career-high 15 points in the contest. Bryant also pulled down 12 rebounds to complete his first double-double of the season.
 
The Cougars shook off a tough shooting performance from their season opener on Tuesday night. Averett went 28 of 58 from the floor to finish the game with a 48.3 shooting percentage.
 
Averett faced a 40-32 deficit going into the second half. However, the Cougars went on a 20-9 run over a span of nearly eight minutes to take a three-point lead on freshman Accheaus Fields' layup.
 
Hood (2-0), however, ran off nine consecutive points on its way to building a 58-52 lead with just over 11 minutes on the clock. The Blazers built their lead to as many as 11 on Michael Riley's layup at the 6:32 mark. Averett fought back and managed to get its deficit down to eight on its next possession courtesy of a 3-pointer from sophomore Austin DeLucia.
 
The Blazers went on a surge from there, building their lead to 10 (78-68) with 20 seconds left in the contest.
 
Hood led by as many as 13 earlier in the first half when Ian Eversull converted his layup to make it 33-20 with 3:10 left in the period. The Cougars didn't hang their heads, though, and scored 12 of the half's last 19 points to cut their deficit down to eight heading into the break.
 
The Cougars performed well under the boards, outrebounding the Blazers 38-32.
 
Averett concludes its stay in the tournament tomorrow when it takes on Wilson College (0-2) at 2 p.m.