WINCHESTER, Va. — Averett University men's basketball overcame a second-half deficit to put away Wilson College 87-69 in Saturday's Shenandoah University Body Renew Classic consolation game.
 
Junior James Contreras scored a career-high 20 points and senior Charles Bryant notched another double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds to help lead Averett (1-2) to a comeback win after being down 43-39 at the break and as much as a seven-point deficit early in the second half.
 
Sophomore T.J. McAllister's 3-pointer tied the game at 51-51 with 14:20 to play. The Cougars never trailed from that point on. Averett's lead over Wilson (0-3) grew to 10 on sophomore Austin DeLucia's jumper in the paint with 6:11 remaining and the Cougars' advantage never dipped back into single digits.
 
Averett led by seven in the first half before Wilson erased the deficit and tied the game at 35-35 at the 2:28 mark. The Phoenix finished the period with an 8-4 run to take the lead at halftime.
 
The Cougars also got 10 points from McAllister, as well as 11 points off the bench from freshman Jama Forde, who was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Junior Darin Ketner chipped in eight points while getting his first career start.
 
Bryant was named to the all-tournament team after a solid two-day performance.
 
As a team, Averett shot 53.4 percent from the floor and outrebounded Wilson 38-34.
 
The Cougars return home to face non-conference foe Guilford College on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Grant Center.