HARRISONBURG, Va. — Averett University men's basketball opened the season with a 71-66 overtime win at non-conference foe Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday afternoon.
 
After rallying to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation on junior Montre' Cash's jumper in the paint, Averett (1-0) held off Eastern Mennonite (0-1) in the overtime period. The Royals took an initial lead before took a 67-63 advantage on freshman Corey Baldwin's 3-pointer with 1:07 to play in overtime. Although the Royals answered with a 3-pointer, Cash added a jumper and a pair of made free throws as the Cougars got a few defensive stops to seal the road win.

Cash had a team-high 18 points with six assists and six rebounds for Averett. Baldwin added 13 points and six boards in his debut, while senior Vince Contreras added 10 points and five rebounds. Senior Moriba Diaby added a team-high seven boards for the Cougars.
 
Averett slowly built a two-possession lead by the end of the first half before extending it to 35-25 on a Cash 3-pointer just before halftime. Yet, Eastern Mennonite chipped away to get back within one less than five minutes into the second half. The two teams traded the lead multiple times down the stretch, with the Royals going up 58-57 on Josh Whelan's jumper with 1:12 left in regulation. Tie Evans added a free throw with 12 seconds remaining before Cash's jumper tied it 59-59 with two seconds left to force overtime.

The Cougars' defense played a big part in the win, getting 11 steals as a team with six blocks.

Averett travels to Division I University of North Carolina Greensboro on Monday for an exhibition before continuing the season at Hampden-Sydney College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.