DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball dropped a non-conference home game 77-49 to Maryville College on Sunday in the Grant Center.
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Averett, missing two regular senior starters, took an early 7-4 lead and was up 12-11 before Maryville went on a 15-2 run to seize control, 36-14 with 5:44 to play in the opening period. The Scots, who received votes in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, extended their lead to 25 by halftime.
The Cougars hung with Maryville toe-to-toe in the second half and were only outscored 31-28 in the second period, but the they couldn't overcome their first-half deficit.
Several Averett freshmen got extended playing time, including
J.J. Mata, who scored a career-high 10 points in 20 minutes of action. Like Mata, freshman
Nick Andrew also netted his first collegiate points on Sunday with three 3-pointers for nine total points off the bench. Fellow freshman
Isaiah Ramazani, who got the start, and freshman
Josh Lewis also scored their first collegiate points. Lewis added six rebounds, while senior
Fermin Borbua-Watson added five boards.
Freshman
Jamison Graves had a team-high 12 points and seven rebounds for the Cougars.
Despite a rebounding deficit in the first half, Averett's young squad outrebounded the Scots 49-40 for the game. Averett also had five blocks defensively.
Averett travels to No. 8 Hampden-Sydney College on Wednesday for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup with the nationally ranked Tigers.
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