DANVILLE, Va. ­— Guilford College used a late second half surge to pick up a 71-56 victory over the Averett University men's basketball team on Tuesday night at the Grant Center.

Guilford (3-1) rattled off 10 consecutive points midway through the second half to establish some momentum. The Quakers built their lead to 15 when Mason Reyer went on a fast break and made his layup to make it 53-38 with 10:32 remaining. Guilford built its lead to 21 with just over two minutes remaining courtesy of a layup in the paint from Alston Thompson.

Facing a seven-point deficit at the opening of the second half, Averett (1-3) trimmed its deficit down to five when freshman Accheaus Fields drilled a 3-pointer at the 13:34 mark. Guilford's offense caught fire, though, to pull ahead midway through the second half.

Fields led the Cougars in scoring, finishing with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor. Sophomore T.J. McAllister chipped in with nine points while juniors James Contreras Jr. and Darin Ketner each pitched in with eight.

Despite the loss, Averett started out the game strong. The Cougars scored the first five points of the game courtesy of a 3-pointer from Ketner and a jumper from sophomore Jalen Burnett. Guilford went on a tear of its own though, taking a 32-20 advantage on a pair of free throws from Reyer with 3:56 left in the period. Averett scored nine out of the half's last 13 points to trim its deficit down to seven heading into the break.

Senior Charles Bryant led the Cougars' rebounding efforts with eight. Freshman Moriba Diaby posted a career-high seven boards while Ketner recorded five. Bryant now has 645 career rebounds, leaving him five shy of tying David Apple, who sits in fourth with 650.

Averett returns to the court on Dec. 3 when it hosts Eastern Mennonite University in non-conference action at 2 p.m. at the Grant Center. The Cougars knocked off the Royals 85-74 last season.