LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Averett University men's basketball is going dancing.

The Cougars' knocked off Covenant College 76-63 on its home court in Saturday's USA South Conference Tournament championship game to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm proud of these guys," Averett head coach David Doino said. "They earned this trip to the NCAA Tournament. From where we started to where we're at now, it's taken a lot of buy-in, a lot of heart and a lot of hard work. They bought into it and it was special to watch."

Despite coming off a double-overtime win a day earlier, East No. 1 seed Averett (17-11) opened the game on fire, racing out to an 11-3 advantage on Covenant's home court to set the tone. With the hot shooting of sophomore Jordan Lewis and the all-around play near the rim by junior Bryson McLaughlin, that lead grew to 30-15 by the 7:03 mark. Covenant hit a 3-pointer on its final possession of the half to get within 35-23 at the break.

Averett hit four 3-pointers while shooting 50 percent in the first half.

"I think that gave us a lot of confidence just the ball go through the net," Lewis said.

Despite a 12-point halftime lead, Doino reminded his team to not let up in the second half. A day earlier against LaGrange College in the semifinals, the Cougars' halftime lead was erased by a 15-2 Panthers run to start the half. 

"I challenged our senior KeShawn (Lewis) to lead us in the heart department in the second half, and they followed his lead in the second half," Doino said. 

With the offense still clicking, the Cougars got defensive stops when they needed them and beat Covenant (18-7) on the glass.

"It was a complete game," Doino said. "Over 40 minutes, I didn't think we had any let-ups."

Covenant, the West Division No. 1 seed, made its push midway through the second half to get within 46-39, but junior Corey Baldwin answered with a 3-pointer immediately. Averett went on a 15-3 run over the next five minutes to extend its lead to 64-44 with 6:29 remaining. Averett didn't hit another field goal the rest of the way but scored its final 12 points as the foul line to keep the Scots at a distance.

"We came out of the half up 12. If the other team comes out with more energy, then you're right back into a dogfight," Doino said. "I thought Covenant made a couple of 5-0 runs but we were able to answer right back.  They weren't able to really break that seven- or eight-point margin."

As the clock expired, the Cougars celebrated the program's fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament in its existence and first since the 2008-09 season.

Five Cougars scored in double figures, with McLaughlin totaling a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Baldwin and Jordan Lewis each had 12 points, junior Jalen Rowell had 11 points and KeShawn Lewis added 10 points and seven rebounds. Baldwin also had eight rebounds for the Cougars.

Baldwin was named USA South Tournament MVP after averaging 16.5 points and 12 rebounds over the final two games of the tournament. McLaughlin and Jordan Lewis joined him on the all-tournament team.

Will Crumly ended his Covenant career with 32 points and nine rebounds to lead the Scots in front of their home crowd. 

Averett improved to 5-5 all-time in USA South Tournament finals appearances, and improved to 3-0 all-time against Covenant in postseason play. The Cougars end its 45-plus years in the USA South on top with a move to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference set for the 2022-23 season.

Averett will learn its next opponent during the selection show on Monday. Until then, the Cougars will savor the moment.

"I think back to the first day of 6 a.m. practices to the adversity we went through to know everything coming through to fruition at the end, it's very amazing," Baldwin said. "Some people dream of this but aren't able to get it done. We were able to get it done, so I'm very excited and very proud. We're able to keep dancing."


2021-22 USA South All-Tournament Team
MVP: Corey Baldwin, Averett
Bryson McLaughlin, Averett
Jordan Lewis, Averett
Will Crumly, Covenant
Chris Barnette, Covenant
Bershard Edwards, LaGrange