FERRUM, Va. — Junior James Contreras Jr. knocked down three free throws with 0.4 seconds to play to lift Averett University past Ferrum College for a dramatic 59-58 conference victory in men's basketball action Wednesday night.

Averett (8-12, 6-3 USA South) trailed 58-56 after Ferrum's Logan Grant hit one of two free throws with 7.8 seconds to play. The Cougars got the ball up the court, looking for a good look to either tie or win the game. Contreras ended up with it at the top of the key and was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining.

With the loud Ferrum crowd inside Swartz Gym offering a hostile environment in a pressure situation, Contreras stepped to the foul line and calmly nailed all three free throws to give Averett the one-point road win.

Neither team led by more than three points at any point over the final 12 minutes of the game. Ferrum (10-10, 5-4 USA South) held a 55-52 advantage with 2:17 to play. Averett surged back in front with back-to-back Contreras layups less than a minute later before Carrington Young put Ferrum ahead 57-56 with just under a minute remaining.

Ferrum had its opportunities to put the game away, but the Panthers left the door cracked just enough to give Averett a chance. Ferrum missed the front end of a one-and-one twice in final 32 seconds and couldn't capitalize on two Averett turnovers — the latter of which led to Grant going to the foul line with less than eight seconds to play. He hit the first one but missed the second to set up Contreras' clutch moment.

As a team, Averett was 16 for 16 from the foul line — the best team performance from the charity stripe in program history since the Cougars went 18 for 18 against the Apprentice School in 1997. Ferrum, meanwhile, shot 11 for 22 on its free throw attempts.

While Contreras finished strong with 13 of his 17 total points coming in the second half, it was senior Charles Bryant who set the tone for Averett early on en route to a 33-26 halftime lead. Bryant scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the first half, and he had five of his nine rebounds in the first period as well.

Bryant's nine boards puts him over the 800-rebound milestone. With 803 career rebounds, Bryant now only trails DeMarcus Morrison's program record by 45 boards.

Sophomore Jalen Burnett added 11 points and freshman Moriba Diaby posted career-highs of 14 rebounds and eight points to help the Cougars to their sixth win in eight contests. Contreras also chipped in seven rebounds.

Averett travels to N.C. Wesleyan College on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game.