MISENHEIMER, N.C. — Averett University men's basketball led for most of the game, but a late spurt by Pfeiffer University in the second half propelled the Falcons to a 67-62 non-conference win over the Cougars on Thursday night in both teams' season opener.
Up five at halftime, Averett (0-1) extended its lead to 14 points on a layup by senior
Jason Sellars II less than five minutes into the second period. With 13:47 left, Averett held a 49-35 lead but the Cougars' offense cooled as Pfeiffer (1-0) heated up. Alex Cunningham buried back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Falcons within single digits, and followed with two layups to get Pfeiffer within 49-45 with 11:04 to play. The Falcons hit two more 3-pointers on consecutive trips to jump ahead 51-49 for their first lead of the half.
After an Averett timeout, the Cougars looked as though they had weathered the storm by producing their own 7-0 run to go back in front 56-51 with 8:14 to play. Both teams went scoreless for more than four minutes before Cunningham hit a floater. The Cougars answered with a layup at the other end to extend their lead back to 58-53. Yet, Pfeiffer hit consecutive 3-pointers to surge ahead 59-58 with 3:02 remaining. Another 3-pointer and layup, coupled with free throws down the stretch, helped Pfeiffer escape with the five-point win despite only leading for a total of about eight minutes the entire contest.
Senior
Jordan Lewis led all players with 20 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists for Averett. Freshman
Jamison Graves gave the Cougars a spark off the bench with 17 points in his collegiate debut, while Sellars finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. In addition, junior
Bryce Shaw's seven first-half points and redshirt junior
Jem Lowrance's five points in reserve accounted for all of Averett's scoring.
After Pfeiffer opened the game with two electric dunks, Averett settled. A 6-0 run by the Cougars helped them go up 19-14 midway through the first half. Averett maintained the lead until a Pfeiffer 3-pointer tied it, 25-25. Averett countered with a 3-pointer by Shaw and an alley-oop layup by Sellars to go back ahead by five. The Falcons hit a 3-pointer at the other end, but Lewis quieted the crown with 3-pointer as the half expired to give the Cougars a 33-28 advantage at the break.
Averett's defense limited Pfeiffer to only four 3-pointers in the first half but the Falcons hit eight in the second half.
Averett returns to action on Saturday when the Cougars travel to Southern Virginia University for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
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