SWARTHMORE, Pa. — Roanoke College pulled away late in the second half to pick up an 89-76 victory over the Averett University men's basketball team in the nightcap of the Swarthmore College Garnet Holiday Tournament on Saturday night.
Roanoke (3-4) outscored Averett (2-7) 11-4 over the final five minutes of the game to pick up the non-conference victory and advance to the championship game on Sunday evening.
The Maroons took a 15-point advantage just over four minutes into the second half when Caleb Jordan made good on his layup in the paint. The Cougars, though, didn't hang their heads and went on an 18-7 run to pull within four on sophomore
Austin DeLucia's 3-pointer with 11:17 remaining. Averett trimmed its deficit down to two three minutes later when sophomore
T.J. McAllister finished his jumper. Roanoke, however, scored 18 of the contest's next 28 points to extend its lead back to double-digits with just over two minutes remaining.
As a team, Averett recorded a season-high nine 3-pointers. Sophomore
Austin DeLucia was on fire from beyond-the-arc, turning in a 5-for-7 performance from 3-point range to pick up a career-high 19 points.
The Cougars shot 50 percent from long range in the first half to hang tight with the Maroons. DeLucia nailed three 3's to help pace the Cougars' attack in the first period. After John Caldwell's triple gave Roanoke a six-point advantage, DeLucia hammered home a 3 to get Averett within three at the 7:29 mark. Minutes later, C.J. Miles converted his layup to give Roanoke a 34-29 lead, but DeLucia drilled another triple to shrink the Cougars' deficit down to two. However, the Maroons closed out the period on an 11-2 run to take a double-digit lead into the break.
Averett had three players finish in double-digit scoring. DeLucia led the way with 19, while junior
James Contreras Jr. and senior
Charles Bryant each chipped in with 18.
The Cougars outperformed the Maroons under the board by a margin of 32-29. Contreras picked up six boards to lead Averett, while Bryant had five and junior
Darin Ketner and sophomore
Jalen Burnett had four.
Averett concludes its two-day stay in the tournament when it takes on host Swarthmore College for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
