DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball fell 78-73 in overtime to University of Lynchburg in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night in the Grant Center.
After Lynchburg (10-7, 5-3 ODAC) controlled the lead for most of the first half, Averett (4-13, 2-7 ODAC) battled back to take its first lead since 3-0 in the opening minutes of the game. The Cougars opened the second period with a 16-4 run to go in front 42-35. Down the stretch, both teams traded leads. With 1:26 left in regulation, senior
Jordan Lewis' jumper put Averett ahead 59-58, then freshman
Jamison Graves hit a put-back layup with 39.0 seconds remaining to extend the Cougars' lead to 61-58.
Lynchburg answered with a quick layup before fouling Lewis, who hit both free throws to give Averett a 63-60 advantage. However, the Hornets' Cameron O'Conner drained a 3-pointer with 18.4 seconds to play to tie the game. Averett's contested 3-pointer at the buzzer was errant, sending the game into overtime.
The game remained a one-possession contest entering the final minute of overtime. With Lynchburg up 71-70, the Hornets added a free throw, then got a layup with 34 seconds to play to extend their lead to 74-70. After an Averett turnover, Lynchburg hit two more free throws. Lewis answered with a 3-pointer to make it a 76-73 game with 13.5 seconds remaining. The Hornets added two more free throws with 10.4 seconds left and Averett ran out of time to fall by five.
Freshman
Isaiah Ramazani had a breakout game for the Cougars, scoring a career-high 20 points off the bench to go with a career-best five rebounds. Lewis added 16 points and six boards, while Graves also scored in double digits with 13 points and snagged five rebounds. Senior
Jason Sellars II led the team with 12 rebounds to go with his nine points and three blocks. Freshman
Niko Liberatore also hit the glass, grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds.
Sellars' 12 boards pushed him over the 500-rebound milestone for his career, making him one of only 13 Cougars in recorded history to achieve that mark. He entered the game four shy of 500 and currently has 508 career rebounds.
Averett travels to Eastern Mennonite University for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday.
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