LYNCHBURG, Va. — Two Cougars scored 20 or more points as Averett University men's basketball held off a second-half charge from Randolph College for an 89-82 victory on Friday in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play.
Averett (6-8, 1-4 ODAC) got back on the winning track thanks to a career-high 26 points from freshman
Jackson Sellars and 20 points from senior
Bryce Shaw.
The Cougars started off hot, rolling out to an 11-0 advantage in less than three minutes. But Randolph (5-8, 1-5 ODAC) weathered the storm and pulled within 16-13 by the 11:03 mark. The Cougars maintained control, however, and took a 51-35 lead into halftime.
The WildCats slowly chipped away at Averett's lead, getting within 65-57 midway through the second half. Averett's advantage dwindled to 72-70 with 7:39 to play, setting up a thrilling finish. Randolph managed to tie it at 76-76 with 4:20 remaining, but Averett held strong, getting back-to-back layups from sophomore
Jamison Graves, including an and-one on the second one as Averett extended its lead back to 81-76. Randolph got as close as 83-80 with 2:32 to play, but the Cougars held on in the final seconds.
Sellars surpassed his previous career-high of 16 points — which he set last game — and also grabbed six rebounds. Shaw added five rebounds, and Graves finished with 16 points. Freshman
Mason Mitchell also scored in double figures, netting 11 points. Graduate student
Jason Sellars II led Averett with eight rebounds.
Averett shot 54.8 percent from the floor in the first half and 47.5 percent for the game. The Cougars also protected the ball, only committing eight turnovers to snap an eight-game skid.
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was moved up one day because of the winter weather.
Averett returns home to play Shenandoah on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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