FARMVILLE, Va. — The Averett University men's basketball team fell to Division I Longwood University, 81-57, on the road on Thursday night.

Averett (1-8) looked like it had a good shot at the upset early on, playing hungry from the beginning and heading into halftime with the game tied at 34-34 after shooting 52 percent from the floor, while holding Longwood (8-4) to just 34 percent shooting in the first half. The Lancers heated up from the floor, though, shooting 53 percent in the second half to pull away late in the game.

Averett started out hot, jumping out to a 15-8 lead just over eight minutes into the first half. However, Longwood answered as it got hot from 3-point range, finishing the first half by going 8-20 from deep to lead by as much a five points. The Cougars then answered with the help of 14 first-half points from sophomore Harrison Cochran on 6-7 from the field to tie the game back up at 34 heading into halftime.

Averett looked good to start the second half as well, jumping out to a 39-37 lead before Longwood went on a 9-1 run to regain a 46-40 lead. The Lancers didn't relinquish the lead for the rest of the game, going on a series of similar runs to seal the game from that point on.

Cochran led the team with 14 points and two rebounds. Freshman Isaiah Jones joined him in double figures with 12 points, two rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Senior Jalen Burnett was next up with eight points, a team-high five rebounds and three assists.

The Cougars have a road matchup against N.C. Wesleyan College on Saturday at 2 p.m. before breaking for the holidays.