DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball senior Charles Bryant etched his name in the record book, surpassing DeMarcus Morrison as the program's all-time career rebounder with a stellar performance in the Cougars' 98-86 conference victory over William Peace University on Wednesday night at the Grant Center.

Bryant made the most of his historic night, scoring a career-high 31 points while grabbing 11 rebounds to help Averett (10-14, 8-5 USA South) stay in contention for the conference regular season championship and a chance to earn the top seed and host the conference tournament next week.

Although he only needed nine rebounds to break the record entering the game, it was Bryant's scoring that set the tone early. The senior scored 14 of Averett's first 18 points as the Cougars battled back and forth with William Peace (13-10, 6-6 USA South) throughout the first half. The Pacers led 24-22 with 8:50 left in the period before Averett used a 12-0 run fueled by three 3-pointers to capture a 10-point advantage. That lead grew to 13 by halftime.

Bryant, who had 18 points and four rebounds at halftime, continued his tear by scoring Averett's first four points of the second half. As the Cougars' lead surpassed 20 points just a few minutes into the period, all attention seemed to turn to Bryant's quest to break Morrison's record of 848 rebounds.

That milestone came at the 10:15 mark of the second half. Bryant drove and dished to freshman Jamal Forde on the right wing. Forde's shot hit off the rim and Bryant, who slipped to the paint, out-jumped two Pacers and went back up for the put-back layup while being fouled on the play. Bryant drained the free throw to match his previous career-high of 27 points.

"It's a big record," Bryant said of the career rebounding mark.

The Jarratt, Virginia, native admitted that he looked at the number as a sophomore and never thought he would get near it. But in recent weeks, with the help of two 17-rebound performances, Bryant made a dash for the record that has stood since 2000. Bryant credits Averett third-year coach David Doino for helping him achieve that feat.

"It's coming to work every day and being pushed by Coach (Doino) every year since my sophomore year, honestly," Bryant said after the game. "It's the hardest I've ever worked. When Coach D got here, he put a mentality of toughness in my head and stayed with me."

Doino said the record is well-deserved based on Bryant's hard work and leadership.

"To me, it speaks to the type of person that Charles is," Doino said. "Rebounding, to me, is a toughness stat. When I think of toughness over the last three years of coaching him, there's nobody tougher than Charles Bryant."

In addition to his rebounding milestone, Bryant also moved into fifth all-time on Averett's scoring list Wednesday night, passing Justin Pierce. Bryant now has 1,245 points and 851 career rebounds entering Saturday's regular season finale at home against Maryville College, which will tip at 2 p.m. following a Senior Day ceremony for Bryant, the team's lone senior.

A win over Maryville would give the Cougars a tie for the conference regular season crown, and with tie-breakers, Averett would earn the top seed and right to host the conference tournament.

The Cougars enter the regular season finale on a solid note, winning seven of their last 10 contests. And against William Peace on Wednesday, Averett shot a season-high 58.6 percent (34-for-58) and drained nine 3-pointers.

In addition to Bryant's stellar performance, the Cougars also got 20 points and five assists from junior James Contreras Jr., 16 points from sophomore Austin DeLucia and 14 points from junior Darin Ketner.