DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball fell 74-71 to non-conference rival Ferrum College on Monday night.
 
Ferrum (4-4) rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to take a 70-69 lead with 48 seconds remaining — only the Panthers' second lead of the game and first since a 9-8 advantage in the opening minutes. Averett (5-3) had several opportunities to respond, including a would-be game-tying 3-pointer rattle in and out in the final seconds. Ferrum, however, escaped with the win.
 
Averett controlled the contest early behind solid first-half efforts of senior Timothy Henry and sophomore Isaiah Jones, who each had nine points in the first period, along with junior Montre' Cash's eight points, six boards and four assists in the first 20 minutes and freshman Corey Baldwin's eight first-half points. Cash's jumper with 5:07 left in the opening period extended Averett's lead to 33-22. The Cougars led by as many as 13 late before taking a 43-31 lead into halftime.

Averett's lead grew to as much as 14 points early in the second half before Ferrum's 3-point shooting helped get the Panthers back into the game. Ferrum chipped away to get within 53-51 with 11:16 remaining before Averett pushed its margin back to 60-51 on a Cash 3-pointer. Yet, a 12-4 run by Ferrum closed the gap to 64-63 with four minutes remaining.

Ferrum took its first lead since the 15:18 mark in the first half on James Smith Jr.'s jumper in the paint with 48 seconds to play. Averett missed a shot at the other end, and Ferrum hit a pair of free throws to extend its lead to 72-69. Baldwin hit a jumper with 11 seconds to get Averett back to within 72-71, but the Panthers hit two more free throws to get the lead back to three. Averett's 3-point attempt with about four seconds left rimmed out and Ferrum got the rebound to help secure the win.

Cash finished with a team-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists, while Henry had 15 points and eight rebounds and tied his career-high with five assists. Jones and Baldwin each finished with 11 points.

Rashad Reed led Ferrum with 23 points, including 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Ferrum drained 12 of 24 3-pointers to propel itself to victory despite being out-rebounded 39-25 by the Cougars.

Averett returns to action on Wednesday night when the Cougars play host to the University of Lynchburg at 7 p.m.