MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Averett University men's basketball team played a tightly contested game but fell short on the road to Huntingdon College in a 68-61 loss on Saturday.

Averett (3-11, 3-3 USA South) led at the half and came out hot to start the second half before Huntingdon (8-6, 5-2 USA South) fired off a late second half run to take the lead and not look back. The Cougars kept it competitive throughout the game, even getting a 10-point lead early in the second half, but the Hawks forced late turnovers and capitalized off of them to complete the comeback and stun Averett.

The first half of action was close the whole way, as there were 11 lead changes in the opening half alone, six of which took place in the final 3:46 of the first. Both teams shot well from the floor, as Averett went 10-22 from the floor and Huntingdon went 13-26. The Cougars also shot well from the free throw line, as the 13-15 figure made a difference compared to 4-7 from the Hawks.

Averett came out firing to start the second half, going on an early 9-1 run to take a 10-point lead less than four minutes into the half. However, shortly after that, Huntingdon fired back with a 9-2 run to cut the Cougars' lead to three points and get right back in the game with 11:27 on the clock. Averett fought back to keep it competitive for a while before Huntingdon went on a 13-0 run to take a 60-53 lead with 4:46 left to play and didn't relinquish the lead from that point on.

Juniors Tim Henry and Vince Contreras led the team with 12 points each, as Henry went 3-5 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line while Contreras went 6-7 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. Sophomore Montre' Cash was next up with nine points, four assists and two steals.

Averett's road trip continues on Sunday when it travels to LaGrange College for a 1 p.m. tip off.