DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball pulled within one point several times late, but Eastern Mennonite University held on for a 69-62 non-conference victory on Saturday afternoon at the Grant Center.
 
Down 37-31 at halftime, Averett (0-2) remained within striking distance the entire second half and never trailed Eastern Mennonite (1-1) by more than eight points. The Cougars made their push with under five minutes to go, getting a pair of free throws by sophomore Jordan Lewis and a 3-pointer by junior Raja Milton to pull within 59-58 with 3:50 remaining. Averett pulled back within one point several times down the stretch, with the last coming on junior Corey Baldwin's layup with 2:04 to play. Yet, Eastern Mennonite held the Cougars scoreless the rest of the way while tacking on four free throws in the final 20 seconds to put the game out of reach.

Both teams traded leads throughout the first half and neither team led by more than three possessions over the entire 40 minutes. The Cougars opened with an 11-6 lead in the first five minutes before the Royals finished the half with a run to go in front.

Lewis led Averett with 14 points, with senior Jalen Rowell adding 13 points off the bench. Baldwin also had 11 points and led the team with nine rebounds. Milton added a team-high three steals to go with six points in seven minutes.

Eastern Mennonite's Tim Jones finished with 18 points and 12 assists.
 
Averett travels to Ferrum College for a non-conference game on Wednesday.