MARYVILLE, TENN. — Averett University men's basketball knocked off No. 20 Maryville College 85-79 to open the season on Saturday thanks to a record-breaking effort.
Behind a program-record 25-for-25 effort from the free throw line, Averett (1-0) was able to held off nationally ranked Maryville (0-1) over the final minutes as the Scots threatened to rally back from a double-digit deficit.
Averett, which led by 12 at the half on the Scots' home court, extended its lead to 14 multiple times early in the second half before Maryville made a run in the final seven minutes. The Cougars' 66-54 lead was trimmed to 68-64 in less than a minute and a half. Maryville got as close two points multiple times and as late as 74-72 with 2:37 remaining, but the Cougars held strong each time.
Senior
Clay Hodges hit a key 3-pointer in the corner with 2:14 to play to extend the Averett lead back to 77-72. The Cougars kept their perfect free throw percentage over the final minute and a half, including four crucial free throws late by freshman
Mason Mitchell.
The 25-for-25 effort from the foul line not only broke the Averett team record for most makes without a miss in a single game (19-for-19 against Apprentice School on Dec. 7, 1997), it was also an Old Dominion Athletic Conference record. The previous ODAC high mark was a 21-for-21 performance by University of Lynchburg against Randolph-Macon College on Dec. 6, 2006.
Sophomore
Jamison Graves led the Cougars with 22 points off the bench, while junior transfer
Davion Bowens finished with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds to go with two blocks. Senior
Bryce Shaw also finished in double-digits with 14 points and Mitchell had 11 points and six rebounds. Graves and Shaw each led Averett with four assists.
As a team, Averett shot 60.9 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from 3-point range to help give the Cougars' their first win over a ranked opponent since Nov. 21, 2017, when the Cougars beat No. 18 Guilford 82-69 on the road.
Maryville took the early 9-6 lead in the opening minutes, but an Averett 7-0 run helped the Cougars surge in front 19-13 with 10:05 to go in the first half. Averett grew its lead to double digits late in the period, building as much as a 14-point advantage before taking a 44-32 lead into halftime. Over the opening 20 minutes, Averett's offense was aided by 65 percent shooting from the floor, 60 percent shooting from beyond the arc and an 11-for-11 effort at the foul line.
The 25-for-25 mark for free throw percentage fell just three free throws shy of the NCAA Division III record of 28-for-28 by University of Albany — now Division I — against SUNY Potsdam on Feb. 19, 1994.
Averett returns home to face Southern Virginia University on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
