ASHLAND, Va. — Averett University men's basketball had No. 2 Randolph-Macon College up against the ropes, but the defending national champion Yellow Jackets hit a go-ahead shot with 0.9 seconds remaining to escape with a 53-51 win on Old Dominion Athletic Conference play on Wednesday night.
 
Tied 51-51 with under a minute to play, Averett (9-14, 5-9 ODAC) got a defensive stop as Randolph-Macon (22-1, 14-0 ODAC) turned over the ball under its basket with 31.8 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, the Cougars' offense got a strong look close to the basket but it didn't fall, giving the Yellow Jackets a chance to win it in the final seconds. Although Averett slowed Randolph-Macon in transition, Daniel Mbangue dribbled from the left side into the paint and put up a contested driving hook shot over several defenders and scored off the class with 0.9 seconds to play to put Randolph-Macon up two. Averett's heave at the buzzer was no good, allowing the Yellow Jackets to survive with their narrowest margin of victory since November.

Averett, which led by one point at halftime, fought Randolph-Macon in a back-and-forth battle early in the second half. Tied 37-37, the Cougars used a 9-0 run midway through the period to grab momentum as junior Jordan Lewis' corner 3-pointer gave Averett a 46-37 advantage with 11:25 to play.

Randolph-Macon then held Averett scoreless for nearly six minutes as it chopped its deficit back down to one point. Still, the Cougars held the lead until a Miles Mallory layup and free throw on the foul put the Yellow Jackets in front 51-49 with 2:49 remaining. Averett answered with senior Bryson McLaughlin's jumper at the other end, tying the game at 51-51 to set up the nail-biting finish.

Averett found success driving the ball into the post against Randolph-Macon for most of the evening as junior Jason Sellars II notched his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while McLaughlin finished with nine points and 13 boards. Lewis also matched Sellars for the team-high in points with 11.

Randolph-Macon jumped out to a six-point lead in the opening minutes but Averett never wavered. That was the largest deficit the Cougars faced all game, and Averett battled back to go in front 24-23 just before halftime on a jumper by sophomore Bryce Shaw.

It was the second consecutive trip where Averett traveled to play a second-ranked Randolph-Macon in Crenshaw Gymnasium and gave the Yellow Jackets a scare. Last season on Dec. 31, 2021, a depleted Averett roster that had only eight players dressed led the eventual national champions late in the first half and stayed within striking distance in the second half before falling 68-54.

Averett finishes the regular season with two home games, beginning with a 4:30 p.m. game Saturday against Eastern Mennonite University on Basketball Alumni Reunion Day.


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