DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University football put away Maryville College in the second half to secure a 31-13 conference victory Saturday on Daly Field at Frank R. Campbell Stadium.

Averett (6-2, 4-1 USA South) tacked on two touchdowns and a field goal in the second half while its defense limited Maryville (2-6, 2-3 USA South) to only a field goal after halftime.

With a 14-10 advantage at halftime, Averett senior running back Joshua Tapscott found his way into the end zone from 3 yards out for his second touchdown of the game early in the third quarter, extending the Cougars' lead to 21-10. After Maryville answered with a 24-yard field goal, the Cougars matched them with senior Cole Westberry's 44-yard field goal with 2:41 left in the third.

Averett senior quarterback Jacob Wright found sophomore receiver Chase Nixon, who dove for the right pylon to complete an 11-yard touchdown catch to push Averett's lead to 31-13 with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter.

From there, Averett's defense did the rest. The Cougars forced Maryville to eat up nearly five minutes of clock on its ensuing drive, which concluded with senior Hunter Hinson picking off the Scots' pass.

For most of the afternoon, Averett's defense held strong. The Cougars kept Maryville to under 100 passing yards and picked up two sacks to go with 10 tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries. Hinson and senior linebacker Conner Showalter each finished with 12 tackles, while junior Maleek Pulliam had nine tackles. Junior Nicholas Mintz added eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a hurry.

Averett took an early 7-0 lead at the 10:01 mark of the first quarter. After Wright's 16-yard pass to senior running back Chris Francis, Wright found sophomore receiver Jarrod Mosby down in the corner for a 26-yard touchdown — Mosby's sixth of the season.

The Cougars had a chance to add to that lead on their next possession, but a 55-yard drive ended on the Maryville 5-yard line after Averett didn't convert on fourth down. Averett kept the touchdown lead until the opening minutes of the second quarter when Maryville kicked a 40-yard field goal to trim the Cougars' lead to 7-3.

The Scots went in front 10-7 with six minutes left in the first half on a Jacob Bunch 2-yard touchdown on a drive that was kept alive by a penalty that negated Averett's interception in the end zone. Averett, however, gained momentum entering halftime on Tapscott's 5-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter, which gave the Cougars a 14-10 advantage at the break.

Wright finished with 151 yards passing and two touchdowns, with Mosby making five catches for 50 yards. Nixon had four catches for 42 yards and junior D'ante Lambright finished with two catches for 30 yards. Francis led the ground attack with 42 rushing yards on eight carries, including a long of 20.

Westberry's field goal moved him within one of matching the USA South Conference's career record.

Averett travels to conference foe Brevard College on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m.