HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. — Junior Montre' Cash nearly had a triple-double and Averett University men's basketball hit all six of its free throws in the final 18 seconds to help the Cougars edge Hampden-Sydney College 75-70 in non-conference action on Wednesday night.

Averett (2-0) led the entire second half but had to hold off several late charges by Hampden-Sydney (0-1). The Tigers trimmed their deficit to only one point several times, but the Cougars had an answer each time. Although Hampden-Sydney got within 57-56 with 5:18 to play, sophomore Isaiah Jones made one 3-pointer and Cash made back-to-back shots from beyond the arc as part of a 9-2 run to extend Averett's lead back to eight points with 3:50 remaining.

The Cougars led 69-65 on Jones' big jumper off the glass with 1:09 remaining. Yet, Hampden-Sydney got back within one, 69-68, on a deep Chaise Johnson 3-pointer with 21.5 seconds left. That's when Averett got clutch foul shots from two upperclassmen in the final moments.

Cash was fouled with 17.3 seconds to play and made both free throws. He then got a steal at the other end before being fouled with 11 seconds left. Again, Cash stepped up to the charity stripe and made both attempts to extend Averett's lead to 73-68. Not wanting to foul, the Cougars allowed the Tigers to get a layup with 3.6 seconds remaining to get back within three. Senior Timothy Henry was fouled with 2.4 seconds left on the inbounds pass, and he also calmly knocked down both free throws to put the game out of reach.

Prior to going 6-for-6 from the line in the final 17.3 seconds, Averett had shot 60 percent (6-for-10) from the line the rest of the game.

Cash narrowly missed recording a triple-double after finishing with 20 points and career-highs of nine rebounds and nine assists to lead four Cougars in double-digit scoring. Jones, who also hit several key shots down the stretch, added 16 points. Senior Vince Contreras had 15 points and three steals while Henry tallied 13 points for Averett, who also got seven rebounds from senior Moriba Diaby.

Averett overcame a slow start to beat Hampden-Sydney. The Tigers built a 17-7 lead before Averett began chipping away midway through the first half. The Cougars outscored Hampden-Sydney 17-5 over the final 10 minutes of the period to take a 30-24 lead at halftime.

Jack Wyatt led Hampden-Sydney with 22 points.

The Cougars finished with nine 3-pointers and outscored the Tigers 25-9 in points off turnovers and 23-4 on second-chance opportunities.

Averett returns home to play the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in a non-conference matchup on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Grant Center.