HARRISONBURG, Va. — Senior James Contreras Jr. became the 13th player in Averett University men's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points as he helped the Cougars come from behind to beat Eastern Mennonite University 88-85 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon.

Averett (4-1) overcame an 11-point deficit midway through the half as the Cougars chipped away down the stretch. Sophomore Timothy Henry's free throws knotted the score at 81-81 with 3:15 to play, and Henry's layup on the Cougars' next possession put Averett in front 83-81 — its first lead since the opening moments of the second half.

After Eastern Mennonite (2-4) inched back in front 85-83 on back-to-back baskets from Sammy Thomas, Contreras provided the answer. The guard got the tying layup with 1:11 to play, and he put Averett ahead 87-85 with another layup with 19.3 seconds to play.

Following an Eastern Mennonite timeout, the Royals missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt in the final seconds. Freshman Montre' Cash snagged the defensive rebound and was fouled with 0.6 seconds remaining. Cash sunk one of two free throws to extend Averett's lead to three.

Eastern Mennonite, which needed to go the length of the court, couldn't get off a last-second shot as Averett's defense knocked the ball away at midcourt as time expired to improve to 4-0 against Old Dominion Athletic Conference teams this season.

Contreras, who entered the day 14 points shy of the milestone, finished with 24 points to lead Averett. Senior Darin Ketner and junior Austin DeLucia each added 14 points and Henry chipped in 10 points, while freshman Raymond Bullock III led the Cougars with a career-best seven rebounds.

Averett controlled the lead for most of the first half, building an 18-9 advantage in the first seven minutes. Yet, Eastern Mennonite managed to tie the game at 34-34 with 4:44 remaining in the period and took a 43-42 lead into halftime.

Averett travels to Virginia Wesleyan University on Wednesday.