DANVILLE, Va. — No player in Averett University men's basketball recorded history had ever scored 42 points in a single game. Until Friday night.

Senior James Contreras Jr. set the program single-game scoring record with a career-high 42 points and hit all 11 of his free throws in overtime as Averett escaped with a 103-98 win over conference foe Covenant College at the Grant Center.

Overall, Contreras was 19-for-20 from the foul line. But none were possibly bigger than the two he hit with 3.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 80-80, which forced overtime.

In overtime, Averett (7-5, 2-2 USA South) and Covenant (7-5, 3-2 USA South) answered each other in the opening minutes, but the Scots inched ahead 85-84 on James Mitchell's 3-pointer. Yet, Contreras answered at the other end with a basket and a foul, hitting the free throw to push Averett ahead 87-85. Following a defensive stop, sophomore Timothy Henry scored to extend the Cougars' lead to four with 2:58 remaining. Although Averett's lead grew to five in overtime, Covenant never went away. The Scots pulled within 99-98 on another Mitchell 3-pointer with 15 seconds to go.

Averett quickly got the ball down the court to sophomore Jamal Forde, who was wide open and fouled with 9.2 seconds left. Forde calmly knocked down his only two free throw attempts of the night to give the Cougars a 101-98 lead.

Covenant threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds play, and the Scots fouled Contreras with 4.6 seconds remaining. He hit them both to seal the game and break DeMarcus Morrison's program record of 41 points set against Shenandoah University on Jan. 20, 1999.

Covenant owned the first half, using a 12-2 run to take control six minutes in. The Scots knocked down five 3-pointers in the first half to help extend their lead to as many as 11 points before Averett's defense clamped down and cut the deficit to 39-34 by halftime thanks to a 6-0 spurt to end the period.

That little bit of momentum fueled the Cougars at the start of the second half. Averett pieced together a 13-0 run that included six points by freshman Montre' Cash to propel the Cougars in front 51-43 with 15:13 left in the second half. Averett led by as many as 14 before Covenant made a run of its own. Down 73-60, the Scots used a 14-0 run to regain a one-point lead with 4:22 on the clock.

Averett led 78-77 entering the final minute of play in the second period, but Mitchell knocked down a 3-pointer to put Covenant back in front by two with 10.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Contreras drove to the basket at the other end and was fouled, setting up the game-tying free throws that forced overtime.

Covenant hit 13 3-pointers as a team, including six by Mitchell who finished with 18 points. Caleb Haynes led the Scots with 24 points.

Cash and junior Jalen Burnett each had 11 points and Henry matched his career-high with 10 points. Sophomore Ian Best and Forde each finished with eight points.

Both teams shot 50 percent or better from the floor, with the Cougars making 52.9 percent of their shots.

Contreras surpassed his personal best of 40 points, which he set on Dec. 9 at Pfeiffer University. He is the only Cougar to record multiple 40-point games in a career. His 42 points give him 1,205 for his career, catapulting him from ninth to seventh on the program's all-time scoring list. Contreras' 19 made free throws also set a program single-game record, topping the old mark of 18 set by Jonathan Rumley in 2009 against N.C. Wesleyan College.

Averett travels to William Peace University on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. start.