DANVILLE, Va. ­— The Averett University men's basketball team nearly erased a 10-point deficit in the final 15 seconds of the game, but came up short against N.C. Wesleyan College by a score of 85-82 on Senior Night at the Grant Center.

Averett (15-9, 6-7 USA South) found itself trailing 83-73 with 16 seconds left in regulation. However, the Cougars kick-started their rally with a 3-pointer from junior Charles Bryant that cut Averett's deficit to seven at the 12 second mark. Coming up big on defense, the Cougars forced an N.C. Wesleyan turnover on the Battling Bishops next possession. With the ball back, senior Bradley Robinson knocked down a triple to make it a two-possession game at 83-79. The Battling Bishops' DJ Weaver was called for a foul on the play, sending the Cougars to the free throw line with four ticks on the clock. After a missed free throw attempt, senior Devontae Pannell knocked down a 3 to get Averett within one (83-82) with 3.3 seconds left on the clock. The Cougars were forced to foul N.C. Wesleyan on the inbound, sending Weaver to the charity stripe for two shots. Weaver nailed both of his attempts to put N.C. Wesleyan up by three with 2.8 seconds remaining. Averett managed to get the ball back down the court, but a last second 3-pointer fell short, lifting N.C. Wesleyan (18-6, 11-2 USA South) to the thrilling victory.

N.C. Wesleyan worked its way out to a 15-point lead at the 1:25 mark thanks to a jumper in the paint from Adrian Moore. Averett, however, scored the game's next seven points to get its deficit back down to eight at 79-71 with 30 seconds left. The Cougars were nearly able to fight back, but time ran out on their comeback.

Pannell celebrated his final game at the Grant Center in style, scoring a career-high 18 points and knocking down four triples. Bryant recorded a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Robinson finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Senior Carter Jones contributed 12 points to go along with five rebounds.

The Cougars turned in a solid performance from 3-point range, shooting 48.1 percent. Averett shot 6-for-11 from beyond the arc in the second half to help chip down on its deficit. The Cougars also outrebounded the Battling Bishops by a margin of 39-37.

Early on, it appeared that the Battling Bishops would run away with the game as they led by as many as 16 with 12:34 remaining in the first period. As they did all night though, the Cougars fought back and closed the half strong to trail 46-38 going into the break.

Averett closes out its regular season on Feb. 20 when it travels to Ferrum, Virginia, to take on Ferrum College for a 4 p.m. tip.