DANVILLE, Va. — Senior Charles Bryant scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Averett University men's basketball knocked off conference rival Ferrum College 71-58 on Wednesday night at the Grant Center.

Averett (5-11, 3-2 USA South) put together a solid team effort offensive and defensively to help win for the third time in four contests. The Cougars, who shot 51 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the foul line, used a 16-1 run over a six-plus minute span to seize control for the valuable conference win.

Bryant led the Averett offense, which also got strong play from junior James Contreras Jr. and sophomore T.J. McAllister. Contreras totaled 16 points and matched his career-high of seven rebounds, while McAllister scored 13 points. Meanwhile, freshmen big men Moriba Diaby and David Meader each had breakout games. Diaby notched career highs of 12 rebounds and five blocks, while Meador had career highs of seven points and six points.

Ferrum (8-8, 3-2 USA South), which trailed 31-30 at halftime, made a second-half run to take a 40-37 lead less than six minutes into the period before Averett used the big run to regain the lead.

Averett's defense limited the Panthers to just 32.8 percent shooting from the field, and the Cougars out-rebounded Ferrum 42-36.

Bryant continued his ascent up Averett's all-time scoring list, leapfrogging Marcus Tucker and Damien Brown for ninth place. Bryant now has 1,098 for his career, eight away from Antonio Seay for eighth.

The Cougars travel to William Peace University on Saturday before returning home Sunday to play N.C .Wesleyan College in a rescheduled game from Jan. 8.