DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball pulled away down the stretch to beat conference foe Pfeiffer University 71-56 on Tuesday night in the Grant Center, extending the Cougars' winning streak to six games.
Averett (8-8, 5-1 USA South), which led the entire first half, found itself trailing 45-42 after Pfeiffer surged ahead early in the second period. The Cougars, however, responded with a 19-2 run over a nine-minute span to secure a 61-47 lead with 4:32 to play. Averett extended its lead to as many as 19 points in the final minutes.
The Cougars got career-highs in points from junior
Raja Milton and freshman
Bryce Shaw, who came off the bench to hit several big shots late. Milton totaled 16 points and four steals, while Shaw had 10 points and three assists. Junior
Corey Baldwin also had 10 points and six rebounds for Averett.
Averett used a balanced attack and strong defense to build a lead from the start. Nine of the 10 Cougars who played in the opening period scored at least one basket. In the first half, Averett forced 12 turnovers while only turning over the ball twice over the first 20 minutes of play. That helped Averett tale a 36-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Averett's defense forced 23 turnovers while only committing a season-low nine turnovers.
Averett returns to action at home Saturday against William Peace University at 2 p.m.
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