VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Averett University held off previously unbeaten Virginia Wesleyan University late for a big 63-59 non-conference road victory on Wednesday night.

With the win, Averett (5-1) improved to 5-0 this season against Old Dominion Athletic Conference opponents — including a 4-0 mark on the road.

Although Averett led for the entire second half, the Cougars had to withstand several comeback attempts by Virginia Wesleyan (7-1). The Marlins got within four points several times throughout the period and even managed to trim their deficit to 61-59 with 1:25 to play on Lamont Steward's layup following an offensive foul by Averett. The Cougars committed another offensive foul on their ensuing possession with 53 seconds remaining, which left the door open for the Marlins.

Senior Darin Ketner corralled Steward's missed jumper with 40 seconds left, and freshman Montre' Cash hit a pair of free throws to push Averett's lead to 63-59 with just 27 seconds remaining. Virginia Wesleyan missed its final three shots — all 3-pointers — over the final 20 seconds to allow Averett to escape with a solid non-conference road win.

Virginia Wesleyan received four votes in this week's D3hoops.com poll. Averett's last win over the Marlins came nearly nine years to the day — Dec. 3, 2008 — when the Cougars knocked off then-No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan.

Ketner led Averett with 13 points, while Cash had 10 points and senior James Contreras added eight points and four assists. Sophomore Jamal Forde chipped in seven points off the bench and freshman Raymond Bullock III had a career-high seven points to go with six rebounds. Sophomore Vince Contreras led the Cougars with seven rebounds.

After falling behind 8-1 in the opening minutes, the Cougars fought back to tie the game at 12-12 on Ketner's 3-pointer and took their first lead moments later on sophomore Ian Best's free throws. Averett then extended its lead to 22-14 while the defense held Virginia Wesleyan without a field goal — only two free throws — for more than five minutes. The Cougars led by as many as 10 in the first half and took a 34-27 advantage into halftime.

Averett's lead grew to 12 points with 3:43 to go in the second half before Virginia Wesleyan made it interesting in the final minutes.

Averett continues its road trip at Pfeiffer University on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.