MARYVILLE, Tenn. ­— The Averett University men's basketball team picked up a huge conference road win, defeating Maryville College 78-75 on Saturday at Boydson Baird Gymnasium.

Averett (15-7, 6-5 USA South) took a three-possession lead with 36 seconds left in regulation thanks to a layup from sophomore James Contreras Jr. that gave the Cougars a 75-68 advantage. Maryville (12-9, 3-7 USA South) stormed back though, scoring five out of the game's next six points to trim its deficit down to 76-73 at the 10 second mark. Three seconds later and with time running out, the Scots were forced to foul the Cougars, sending senior Devontae Pannell to the charity stripe for two shots. Pannell nailed both of his attempts, giving Averett a 78-73 lead. The Scots tried to get back within a possession on their next drive, but missed a 3-pointer with four seconds on the clock, sealing the game for the Cougars.

The difference in this game was Averett's ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc. The Cougars turned in a 50 percent shooting performance from 3-point range, including a 5 of 9 performance in the second half that helped Averett establish some space. Maryville, known for its 3-point shooting abilities, was limited to just 33 percent shooting from outside. Freshman Saadiq Johnson went 3-for-4 from 3-point range on his way to a career-high 12 points, while freshman Austin DeLucia nailed two 3's on three attempts.

The Cougars found themselves up by as many as nine in the second half when senior Bradley Robinson knocked down a triple to put Averett up 56-47 with 8:17 left on the clock.  The Scots went on an 11-4 run over the course of the next four minutes to get their deficit down to 60-58 at the 4:24 mark. However, Johnson nailed two huge 3's and senior Carter Jones converted a layup to give Averett a 60-51 advantage with 2:04 left.

Jones led Averett with 15 points and pulled down six rebounds to go along with Johnson's 12 points. Robinson chipped in with 11 points and senior Trevor West recorded nine points and dished out a team high five assists. West, Jones and Pannell each led the squad with six rebounds apiece.

Offensively, the Cougars were red hot. Averett shot 49.1 percent from the field and made eight of 16 attempts from 3-point range. The Cougars also won the battle under the boards, outrebounding the Scots 42-31 while pulling down 29 boards on the defensive end.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair between both squads. Averett was able to take a two-possession lead when DeLucia sank a 3-pointer that made it 31-28 with 2:18 left in the period. On Maryville's ensuing possession, Pannell grabbed a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup that gave the Cougars a 33-28 advantage. Averett took a 34-31 lead going into the break.

Averett will have a week to rest before it travels to Greensboro, North Carolina, to take on Greensboro College in a crucial USA South matchup at 4 p.m. The Cougars defeated the Pride 75-59 earlier this year at the Grant Center.