ASHLAND, Va. — The Averett University men's basketball defeated Randolph-Macon College 64-59 in non-conference action on Saturday.
 
A close game throughout, Averett (2-5) went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe over the last two-and-a-half minutes to help seal the win. After Randolph-Macon (3-5) pulled within two with Korey Turner's jump shot at the 26-second mark, junior James Contreras Jr. recorded two of his career-high 23 points when he sank a pair of free throws to extend the Cougars' lead to four at 60-56. After a quick timeout, the Yellow Jackets put the ball in the hands of Turner who missed a layup on the other end. Senior Charles Bryant grabbed the defensive board and got the ball in the hands of junior Darin Ketner who was fouled on his way to the basket. Ketner converted both of his free-throw attempts to give Averett a two-possession lead with 12 seconds remaining.
 
Randolph-Macon missed a 3-pointer on its next possession and Ketner picked up the defensive rebound and got the ball down on Averett's end of the court. Contreras was fouled on the play, sending him to the line, where he sank both attempts to give the Cougars an insurmountable eight-point lead with five seconds left in regulation.
 
Averett improved on an already solid season free throw percentage, sinking 17 of 22 shots to finish at 77.3 percent from the line.
 
Neither team gave the other much chance to breathe in this contest. The Cougars built several two-possession leads in the second half, but the Yellow Jackets fought back every time, preventing Averett from pulling away. Ketner's jump shot put the Cougars ahead 58-52 with a little over a minute to play, but the Yellow Jackets stormed back and rattled off four consecutive points to pull within two on Turner's jumper with 26 seconds remaining. Averett, though, heated up from the foul line to preserve the victory.
 
Averett took its biggest advantage of the game when Ketner nailed his jump shot to give the Cougars a 24-16 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half. Ketner posted a career-high 14 points for Averett in the win.
 
The Cougars outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 39-34. Bryant grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds to put him at 673 career rebounds and moving him into third place on Averett's all-time rebounding list.
 
Averet's defense performed well, forcing 13 Randolph-Macon turnovers, which led to 13 points for the Cougars.
 
The Cougars get a four-day rest before traveling to Farmville, Virginia, to take on Division I Longwood College on Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.