DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University men's basketball grabbed the lead early in the second half, but University of Mary Washington fought off the Cougars down the stretch for a 53-44 non-conference win Wednesday night in the Grant Center.
 
In the opening half, the two teams battled in a tight matchup. Mary Washington (13-7) inched ahead by as many as five points late in the first half, taking a 24-19 advantage with 1:18 to play in the first period. Averett (4-17) trimmed that down to 24-23 deficit over the final 1:07 before halftime thanks to a basket by senior Jason Sellars II and two free throws by junior Bryce Shaw.
 
Shaw's layup to start the second half pushed Averett ahead 25-24, but Mary Washington answered with a 10-2 run to pull out to a 34-27 advantage with 14:23 to play. With their defense holding Mary Washington well below its normal scoring average, the Cougars stayed close to the Eagles. Averett got within 45-40 with 3:13 remaining. However, Mary Washington countered with a 6-0 spurt to extend its lead back to double digits and held on over the final minute.
 
Sellars grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds while scoring 14 points to lead Averett. He also matched his career high of four blocks. Shaw finished with 13 points and six boards, while freshman Nico Liberatore chipped in seven rebounds and six points.
 
Averett travels to Washington and Lee University on Saturday for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup.


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