DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball opened the 2022-23 season with a 62-47 non-conference loss at home to Pfeiffer University on Wednesday night in the Grant Center.
Averett (0-1), coming off a conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance a season ago, found success early as the Cougars built a 14-7 lead after a jumper in the paint from junior
Jason Sellars II with 13:48 left in the first period. Although Pfeiffer (1-0) chipped away, Averett pushed its lead back to seven points on junior
Jordan Lewis' layup, giving the Cougars a 22-15 advantage.
Pfeiffer, which also opened the season but had the benefit of playing Division I High Point University in an exhibition on Monday, then got hot and rattled off a 16-0 run over the final five and a half minutes of the first half to surge ahead 31-22 at the break.
Averett, which shot under 28 percent from the floor and was 1-for-18 shooting from beyond the arc in the game, couldn't overcome that margin in the second half as Pfeiffer pulled away in the final minutes to seal the win.
Sellars finished with a double-double of 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to lead Averett. Senior
Raja Milton led the Cougars in scoring with 12 points, while Lewis added 11 points as well. Senior
Bryson McLaughlin contributed 10 rebounds and three steals off the bench.
Averett's defense limited Pfeiffer to 39 percent shooting and forced 21 turnovers.
Averett returns to action on Sunday when the Cougars travel to play Methodist University in non-conference action as part of a three-game road stand.
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