DANVILLE, Va. — Senior Darin Ketner capped a career night with a pair of momentum-shifting 3-pointers to help Averett University men's basketball erase a 17-point second-half deficit to edge Lynchburg College 81-73 on Monday night at the Grant Center.

Averett (3-1), down 49-32 in the opening minutes of the second half, managed to hang close to set up the huge comeback. Trailing Lynchburg (3-2) by nine with 6:51 to play, the Cougars rattled off a 19-0 run over the next six minutes to take the lead. Ketner, who finished with career-highs of 15 points and 15 rebounds, had perhaps one of the biggest shots of the game during that stretch when tied the score, 68-68, with his 3-pointer with 4:54 to play.

Following a turnover at the other end, freshman Raymond Bullock III got a put-back layup to give the Cougars their first lead since early in the first half. A little over a minute later, Ketner supplied another dagger with another 3-pointer to extend Averett's lead to 73-68.

The Cougars' defense held Lynchburg without a field goal for nearly eight minutes before the Hornets hit a 3-pointer and a jumper in the final 30 seconds after Averett had all but sealed the game at the free throw line down the stretch.

In addition to Ketner's performance, Averet got 27 points from senior James Contreras Jr. — one off his career high — and 15 points and two blocks from Jalen Burnett. The Cougars also got key minutes off the bench from sophomore Timothy Henry, who netted a career-high nine points in 13 minutes.

Ketner opened the game with four points and six rebounds in the first four-plus minutes to help Averett jump in front 2-4. However, Lynchburg responded with a 14-0 run to go in front. Contreras ended the Cougars' scoring drought with a layup and a free throw on a three-point play. Yet, the Hornets responded with another 10-2 run to extend their lead to 28-17 before Averett trimmed its deficit to 36-26 by halftime.

The Cougars shot just 34.3 percent from the floor, including 0-for-14 from beyond the arc in the first half, before turning it on after halftime. Averett shot 59.4 percent in the second period while Lynchburg's offense went cold, shooting 34.5 percent after the break. The Cougars outscored Lynchburg 55-37 in the second half.

Averett also outrebounded Lynchburg 46-32 on its way to its third win over an Old Dominion Athletic Conference opponent this season.

Chance Greene led Lynchburg with 24 points off the bench.

Averett travels to play non-conference foe Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday at 2 p.m.