MISENHEIMER, N.C. — Averett University men's basketball missed a tying shot attempt at the buzzer to fall short 72-70 to Pfeiffer University in the USA South Conference's East Division championship game Sunday.
Averett (6-7) rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to take the lead multiple times down the stretch. The final time came with 2:27 to play following senior
Raymond Bullock III's free throw. Pfeiffer (9-2) answered at the other end with a basket-and-one to go back in front 69-67. The Falcons added a free throw on each of their next two possessions to extend their lead to 71-67 with 11.4 seconds left.
Averett senior
Montre' Cash followed with a fastbreak layup drive while being fouled with 5.3 seconds to go. He hit the free throw to make it a one-point contest. The Cougars committed a foul before the ball was in play, sending Pfeiffer's Tyjarek Simmons to the foul line. After missing the first, he hit the second to make it a two-point game.
The Cougars got the ball inbounds and drove the length of the court for a highlight contested layup at the buzzer, but the shot rolled off the rim.
Averett battled back to make it a close contest with the help of sophomore
Corey Baldwin's effort at the beginning of the half. Baldwin scored the Cougars' first six points as part of a 10-1 run to open the period. Averett continued to chip away at its deficit, eventually tying the game at 49-49 on Bullock's put-back with 11:37 to go. Cash gave the Cougars their first lead since 2-0 with a jumper moments later.
Bullock finished with a game-high 20 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. Baldwin finished with 19 points, including 17 in the second half, to go with seven boards. Cash had 17 points and three steals.
Pfeiffer opened the game with an 11-2 lead with the help of a barrage of 3-pointers in the opening minutes. Averett reeled off six consecutive points to get back within three, but Pfeiffer continued to shoot at a high percentage to build its lead back up to as many as 16 points on its way to a 40-24 halftime lead.
With no Division III NCAA Tournament, Sunday's contest was the last for both teams this season.
