LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Averett University men's basketball trimmed a 20-point deficit down to four in the final minutes, but time ran out on the Cougars' comeback as Maryville College held on for a 77-68 win in Friday's USA South Conference Tournament semifinals.

Maryville (20-7), the No. 2 seed in the West Division, used a big run before the half to surge ahead of East No. 4 seeded Averett (9-18). The Cougars led 26-24 following sophomore Bryson Davis' 3-pointer with under five minutes to play in the first period. However, the Scots hit five 3-pointers as part of a 19-2 run to finish the final 4:31 of the half en route to a 43-28 advantage at the break.

Averett, which rallied in the final minutes to upset East No. 1 seed N.C. Wesleyan College in Tuesday's quarterfinals, nearly did the same against Maryville on Friday. After falling behind by as many as 20 points early in the second half, the Cougars methodically chipped away at the Scots' lead.

Freshman Isaiah Jones drilled two big 3-pointers to get Averett within 12, and juniors Vince Contreras and Timothy Henry led the charge from there as the Cougars closed the deficit to single digits. Sophomore Montre' Cash hit a pair of free throws to slice Maryville's lead to 70-66 with 2:46 remaining to give Averett life. Following two Maryville free throws, Henry's layup made it a four-point game once again with 2:06 left.

Yet, as it had done all night, Maryville answered the challenge with another big 3-pointer. The Scots hit two more free throws late while not allowing another Averett point. With the victory, Maryville advanced to Saturday's USA South championship game at 3 p.m. The Scots face the winner of Friday's second semifinal between host Covenant College and Methodist University.

The Cougars opened the game by jumping ahead 8-4, and the two teams traded the lead over the next 11 minutes before Maryville got hot from beyond the arc. For the game, the Scots made 11 of their 21 3-pointers while shooting 56 percent overall from the floor.

Calvin Songster led four Maryville scorers in double-digit scoring with 17 points.

Led by Contreras' 22 points and Henry's 20 points, Averett dominated in the paint 40-18. Henry, who scored in double figures for the 16th consecutive game, also finished with a team-high eight rebounds.

The loss ends the season for Averett, which overcame a tough 1-10 start against a strong schedule of opponents before the Cougars got hot late. Averett won six of its last eight games entering Friday's semifinal matchup with Maryville.